Oscar Wilde and Whistler
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.)
Classification
pen and ink drawings
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
14393
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
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 t...
About the Artist
Philip William May · 1864–1903
Phil May (1864–1903) was a British caricaturist and illustrator celebrated for his brilliantly economical line drawings that influenced generations of cartoonists. Born in Wortley, Leeds, into modest circumstances, he received little formal training but demonstrated extraordinary natural talent for comic drawing from childhood. He worked for various provincial papers before moving to Australia in ...