WILDE (Oscar).
Signed and dated photographic portrait of Wilde
Signed during the first run of Lady Windemere's Fan
Fine portrait of Wilde, signed and dated May 1892. Lady Windermere’s Fan premiered on the 20th February 1892, and was met by popular acclaim; it “delighted audiences and enraged critics (save for the Ibsenite William Archer) in London and on tour through almost all of 1892” (ODNB).
Boldly signed portrait of a self-assured Wilde, fresh from the success of his play (the Alfred Ellis portraits were taken c. March 1892), three-quarters length in a coat with astrakhan collar and cuffs, his right hand resting on a table and balancing a walking cane in his left hand.
Some light age-toning and slight foxing commensurate with age.
Provenance:
Lot 147, Sotheby’s, London, English Literature and History, Thursday 13 December, 1990. Thence in the same collection until purchased by Maggs in August 2025.
