Oscar Wilde:
An Inventory of His Art Collection at the Harry Ransom Center
| Creator: | Wilde, Oscar, 1854-1900 | |
| Title: | Oscar Wilde Art Collection | |
| Dates: | 1840s-1890s | |
| Extent: | 8 items | |
| Abstract: | The collection consists of portraits of Wilde and his parents by various artists, and a portrait by Wilde of Florence Balcombe Stoker. | |
| Call Number: | Art Collection AR-00296 | |
| Language: | English |
| Access: | Open for research. Please note that a minimum of 24 hours notice is required to pull Art Collection materials to the Ransom Center's Reading and Viewing Room. Some materials may be restricted from viewing. To make an appointment or to reserve Art Collection materials, please contact the Center's staff at art@hrc.utexas.edu. Researchers must create an online Research Account and agree to the Materials Use Policy before using archival materials. | |
| Use Policies: | Ransom Center collections may contain material with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations. Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in the collections without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the Ransom Center and The University of Texas at Austin assume no responsibility. | |
| Restrictions on Use: | Authorization for publication is given on behalf of the University of Texas as the owner of the collection and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder which must be obtained by the researcher. For more information please see the Ransom Centers' Open Access and Use Policies. |
Administrative Information
| Preferred Citation | Oscar Wilde Art Collection (AR-00296). Harry Ransom Center, The University of Texas at Austin. | |
| Acquisition: | Purchases, 1960-1966 | |
| Processed by: | Ransom Center Staff; Jill Morena, 2019 |
| Repository: |
Biographical Sketch
| For a short biography of Oscar Wilde (Irish, 1854-1900), see the finding aid for the Oscar Wilde Collection (MS-04515). | ||
Sources:
| Holland, Vyvyan. Oscar Wilde, A Pictorial Biography. New York: Viking Press, 1960. | ||
| Holland, Vyvyan. Son of Oscar Wilde. London: R. Hart-Davis, 1954. | ||
Scope and Contents
| The majority of items in the collection consists of pencil, ink, and watercolor drawings. The collection is divided into two sections, Series I. Portraits of Oscar Wilde, 1870s-1890s, and Series II. Other Portraits, 1840s-1870s. Series I. consists of two portraits of Oscar Wilde, including a study for a seated portrait by James Edward Kelly, commissioned to promote Wilde's American lecture tour. The drawing was formerly accompanied by a handwritten manuscript and envelope in Wilde's hand ("and many an Afghan chief..."), dedicated to Kelly, that can be found in Box 1, Folder 1 of the Oscar Wilde Collection (MS-04515). Also included in this series is a caricature of Wilde, which was originally published in Punch magazine, that depicts him as an unlikely French soldier, a reference to his inevitable conscription into military service should he take action on his short-lived consideration to renounce his British citizenship for French. Series II. includes two youthful portraits of Wilde's parents, William Wilde and Lady Wilde. Most notable in this series is a portrait by Oscar Wilde of a young Florence Balcombe, before her marriage to author Bram Stoker. An accompanying mat, currently unlocated, was signed by Wilde and indicated that the drawing was created in August 1876. | ||
Related Material
| Works by and correspondence to and from Wilde can be found in the Oscar Wilde Collection (MS-04515). Photographs of and related to Wilde are located in the Oscar Wilde Literary File Photography Collection (PH-02635). A caricature of Wilde and his brother, William Charles Kingsbury ("Willie") Wilde, can be found in the Sir Max Beerbohm Art Collection (AR-00022). | ||
Index Terms
People |
||
| Stoker, Florence Balcombe, 1858-1937. | ||
| Wilde, Lady, 1821-1896. | ||
| Wilde, Oscar, 1854-1900. | ||
| Wilde, William Robert, 1815-1876. | ||
Subjects |
||
| Caricatures--1890-1900. | ||
| Portraits--1840-1890. | ||
Document Types |
||
| Pen and ink drawings. | ||
| Pencil drawings. | ||
| Watercolors. | ||