Oscar Wilde and Whistler (1894): Artwork and History

Oscar Wilde and Whistler (1894) is in the Art Institute of Chicago collection. The museum lists its creator attribution as Philip William May English, 1864-1903.

The work and its context

The Art Institute of Chicago describes the work:

Phil May, a friend of Roussel and a member of the Chelsea Arts Club, contributed caricatures of actors, artists, and writers to London periodicals. The bold style and sharp wit of his drawings attracted a wide following, and his illustrations were also published in book form. This caricature of Wilde and Whistler was reproduced in Phil May’s Sketch-book, which was first issued in 1895. The caption refers to Whistler’s repeated assertions that Wilde plagiarized his ideas, accusations that ended their guardedly amicable relationship in 1890.

Object facts

• Title: Oscar Wilde and Whistler
• Date: 1894
• Artist attribution: Philip William May English, 1864-1903
• Place of origin: England
• Medium: Pen and black ink, with black crayon and touches of blue crayon, on ivory laminate board
• Dimensions: Sheet: 35.4 × 25.5 cm (13 15/16 × 10 1/16 in.)
• Type: Drawing and Watercolor
• Department: Prints and Drawings
• Reference number: 1933.238

Collection credit

Gift of Walter S. Brewster

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The description above is credited to the Art Institute of Chicago and reused under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0; HTML formatting has been converted to plain text. Other catalogue metadata and the public-domain image are provided under CC0 1.0.