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.
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).
