Later Victorian Portraits Catalogue

Self-portraits
Rejected self-portraits
By other artists
Undated portraits
Doubtful portraits
Posthumous portraits
Photographs

We are grateful for the information kindly provided by Dr Linda Gertner Zatlin.

Self-portraitsback to top

c.1887
Pen and ink marginalia (caricatures), in letter to Miss Felton, various poses; priv. coll. Repr. Maas, Duncan & Good 1971, following p.224.

1889
Pen and ink marginalia (caricature), in letter to A.W. King, Jan. 1889, inscr. ‘Here am I looking very wise over an Empty Ledger’, whole-length, seated at desk; Princeton UL. Repr. Beardsley 1925, pl.72; Maas, Duncan & Good 1971, p.17.

1891
Pen and ink caricature, inscr. ‘Going thro’ the rooms’, Aubrey and Mabel Beardsley visiting Frederick Leyland’s house (July 1891); untraced. Repr. Beardsley 1925, pl.59; and Calloway 1998, p.30.

?Pen and ink caricatures, in letter to G.F. Scotson-Clark, 9 Aug. 1891; Sotheby’s, 11 Dec. 1997 (386). Repr. Beardsley 1925, pl.68.

1891–2
Pen and ink drawing, half-length, full-face; BM, London, 1906,0423.1. Repr. Beardsley 1899a; Beardsley 1900, pl.14; and Reade 1967, pl.23.[1]

1892
Pen, brush and indian ink and wash drawing over traces of pencil on paper, dated by Linda Zatlin summer 1892, inscr. ‘Le Dèbris [sic] d’un Poète’, whole-length, rear view, seated on high stool at clerk’s desk; V&A, London, E.1965-1934. Repr. Beardsley 1925, pl.12; and Reade 1967, pl.32.

Pen, black ink, and wash drawing on white laid paper, 206 x 162mm, dated by Linda Zatlin late summer 1892, inscr. ‘The Spooks at the “Review of Reviews”’, signed ‘ABeardsley’; coll. Linda Gertner Zatlin.[2]

1894
Pencil, charcoal and crayon sketch, probably Jan.–Feb. 1894, half-length to left, with fringe, bow tie, high-shouldered sleeves; untraced, formerly coll. John Lane. Repr. Sketch, 14 Apr. 1894; Beardsley 1899b, no.43.

Pen and ink marginalia, in letter to John Lane, dated Mar. 1894, whole-length, with gibbet; coll. Barry Humphries. Repr. Maas, Duncan & Good 1971, following p.224.

Pen and ink drawing, ‘Fancy portrait in Bed’, late summer–autumn 1894, inscr. ‘PAR LES DIEUX / JUMEAUX TOVS / LES MONSTRES / NE SONT PAS EN / AFRIQUE.'; V&A, London, E.429-1899. See Sturgis et al. 2006, no.48.
Repr. as line-block, Yellow Book, vol.3, Oct. 1894; and Beardsley 1899b, no.63; V&A, London, E.30-1996.

1894 or after
Watercolour caricature over photograph by Frederick Hollyer (see below, c.1894, pose (b)), inscr. to Max Beerbohm; coll. Barry Humphries. Repr. Simon Finch Rare Books, Cat.25, 1995, no.13; and Reade 1967, pl.331.

publ. 1895
Pen and ink outline drawing, inscr. lower left ‘aubrey beardsley’, half-length, profile to left, wearing lace ruff, earring and waisted jacket; untraced. Repr. Hour, 27 Mar. 1895 (cutting, coll. BM, London); as halftone block, MA, 1896, p.9.
Uninscribed variant (shortened at waist, with smaller earring and button on lapel); untraced. Repr. Pollard 1896; Beardsley 1899b, no.130; and Reade 1967, pl.472.

publ. 1896
Pen and ink drawing, inscr. centre below ‘AB.’, whole-length, with staff, in fancy costume trimmed with ruffles on jacket and legs, ankles roped to term, trees in background; untraced. Repr. Savoy, no.2, Apr. 1896, entitled ‘A Footnote’; Beardsley 1899a, front cover, but with Pan’s torso and the rope deleted; Beardsley 1900, no.126; and Reade 1967, pl.428.

c.1897
Silhouette, whole-length, profile to left, with outsize head; untraced. Repr. Beardsley 1897, tailpiece; Idler, Mar. 1897; Beardsley 1900, no.158; and Harris 1967, no.155.[3]

Rejected self-portraitsback to top

‘A self-portrait, grotesque outline, profile to left, with diminutive silk hat, from the fly-leaf of an envelope in the possession of J.M. Dent. Unpublished.’ Harris 1967, no.133.[4]

H.S. Nichols’s collection of eighty unknown drawings by Beardsley, exh. New York 1919, included two ‘self-portraits’. Repr. Harris 1967, pp.169, 194.[5] These were forgeries.

Pencil and pastel drawing, signed and dated 1894; untraced, formerly coll. Martin Birnbaum, New York, 1911. See Chicago 1911, p.20 (23).[6]

By other artistsback to top

1886
Sketch by F.J. Stride, head-and-shoulders, to left; untraced. Repr. Brighton Grammar School Christmas entertainment programme, 20 Dec. 1886; and Sotheby’s, 18 Nov. 1999 (2).

1893
Two chalk drawings by William Rothenstein:
(a) three-quarter-length, seated on a sofa, head turned to left; untraced, formerly coll. A.E. Gallatin. Repr. Rothenstein 1926, p.3, no.19; and Calloway 1998, p.110.
(b) almost whole-length, seated to right on sofa, legs crossed; untraced; Sotheby’s, 8 July 1970 (35). Repr. Rothenstein 1926, p.3, no.20.

Pencil sketch by Dugald Sutherland MacColl, signed, dated and inscr. ‘SSM / to / R.A.W. / Aubrey Beardsley / Paris, 1893’, head and shoulders, to right; Gallatin Beardsley Coll., Princeton UL, inventory of Beardsley drawings no.63. Repr. Benkowitz 1981, p.71.

c.1893
Pen and ink caricature drawing by George Roland Halkett, whole-length, profile to left; untraced. Repr. Walker 1923, no.17.

1894
Painting by Walter Richard Sickert, whole-length, profile to left; Tate, N04655; process block repr., coll. BM, London. Repr. Beardsley 1925, pl.7.

Pen, ink and wash caricature by J. Clayton Clarke (‘Kyd’), three-quarter-length, to left. Repr. Walker 1923, no.21. Possibly the same as the undated drawing by Clayton Clarke, Sotheby’s, 12 Mar. 1975 (1023, not ill.).

publ. 1894
Pen and ink caricature by Max Beerbohm, whole-length, head profile to left, arms akimbo, empty handed; V&A, London, E.1379–1931. Exh. The Cult of Beauty, V&A, London, 2011 (no cat. no). Repr. Hart-Davis 1972, no.104; Calloway 1998, p.11; Sturgis et al. 2006, no.47; and Calloway & Orr, p.235, fig.209. For a similar pose of similar date, untraced, see Hart-Davis 1972, no.105.

c.1894
Pen and ink caricature, with coloured chalks on buff paper, by Max Beerbohm, whole-length, head in profile to left, arms akimbo; Ashmolean M., Oxford, WA1945.46. Repr. Beardsley 1925, pl.2; Parker 1958, fig.17; and Benkovitz 1981, p.103. See Hart-Davis 1972, no.106.

Pen and ink drawing by Walter Richard Sickert; see NPG 1967.

1895
Oil on canvas by Jacques-Emile Blanche; see NPG 1991.
This is the primary oil painting of Beardsley.

Oil (support unknown) by Charles Conder, three-quarter-length, standing at an open window, profile to right; destroyed before c.1916.[7] Repr. Walker 1923, no.25; see also copyprint, Aubrey Beardsley Coll., Princeton UL.

publ. 1895
Caricature drawing by (Edward) Linley Sambourne, whole-length to right, pulling a chaise; untraced. Repr. Punch, 2 Feb. 1895, p.58 (‘Picture by Our Own Yellow-Booky’); and Walker 1923, no.15.

c.1895
Pen and ink drawing by Walter Richard Sickert, half-length, to left; untraced. Repr. Browse 1943, cat.9a, p.38. See also NPG 1967, note 5.

Pen and ink and coloured chalks caricature by Max Beerbohm, Will Rothenstein Laying down the Law, inscr. ‘TO / AUBREY’, schematic profile to left; Mark Samuels Lasner Coll., U. of Delaware (no acc. no.). Repr. Stetz 2007, p.101. See Hart-Davis 1972, no.1307.

1896
Pen and ink and coloured chalks caricature by Max Beerbohm, whole-length, head in profile to left, seated on curtained divan; Newberry L., Chicago. Repr. Hart-Davis 1972, no.108, pl.64. See also rough sketch, same date; untraced; Hart-Davis 1972, no.109.

publ. 1896
Caricature by Max Beerbohm, whole-length, leading a toy dog on a string; untraced. See Hart-Davis 1972, no.107.

Pen, ink and wash caricature by Alfred Brice (‘Grip’), whole length; V&A, London, E.747-1948. Repr. (in reverse) Sketch, vol.14, 13 May 1896, p.100.

1897
Lithograph by William Rothenstein, Aubrey, at the Hotel Voltaire, Paris, three-quarter-length, seated, profile to left; colls NPG D32975; BM, London (ref. O'Donoghue 1908–22, vol.1, p.263, no.5); V&A, London, E.2140-1920; Princeton UL; Hope Coll., Ashmolean M., Oxford, HP346a; and Mark Samuels Lasner Coll., U. of Delaware (proof). Publ. in portfolio, Liber Juniorum, London, 1899. Repr. Walker 1923, no.23; Colnaghi, Cat. 236, Dec. 1976 (231); Garton & Co., Cat.71, Autumn 1998 (36); and Stetz 2007, p.33. See also Rothenstein 1926, lith. no.75, not ill.

Undated portraitsback to top

Pen and ink sketch by Penryhn Stanlaws, three-quarter-length, with cigarette; untraced. Repr. (line block) Book Buyer, vol.17, 1898; and Calloway 1998, p.89.

Pencil and red chalk caricature by Max Beerbohm, whole-length, standing on a stage; Aubrey Beardsley Coll., Princeton UL, drwg.98. See Hart-Davis 1972, no.110; see also Hart-Davis 1972, nos 111, 112, possibly posthumous.

Coloured caricature by unidentified artist, three-quarter-length, profile; Aubrey Beardsley Coll., Princeton UL, drwg.99. Based on the drawing by J. Clayton Clarke, see above, '1894'.

Doubtful portraitsback to top

Oil on canvas by Philip Wilson Steer called ‘Aubrey Beardsley’, head-and-shoulders, to right; coll. A.B. Drescher Ltd (photograph dated 1972, NPG Archive).

Posthumous portraitsback to top

1925
Watercolour caricature by Max Beerbohm, Some Persons of ‘the Nineties’…, whole-length, profile to left, at right in group including Arthur Symons, Beerbohm and William Rothenstein; Ashmolean M., Oxford, WA1945.60. Repr. Parker 1958, fig.1. See Hart-Davis 1972, no.1650.

1968
Polychrome terracotta bust by Michael de Lisio, head held on hands, pose based on NPG P114; Joseph H. Hirshhorn Coll., New York, 86.1369. Repr. Lisio 1970, cat.18.

Bronze bust by Michael de Lisio, head held on hands, pose based on NPG P114, edition of 5; one cast coll. Minneapolis IA. Repr. Lisio 1970, cat.19; and Benkovitz 1981, p.49.

undated
Chalk drawing by Louis Moreau (b. 1883); untraced; Phillips,19 May 1975 (54).

Pen and ink drawing by Nicolas Bentley, head and shoulders, for Sunday Telegraph; untraced; Sotheby’s, 20 and 21 Oct. 1992 (1505).

Photographsback to top

1870s
Four photographs as a baby and boy (with nursemaid and sister); U. of Reading Aubrey Beardsley Coll., MS160, formerly Bodley Head archives. Repr. Beardsley 1925, pls 3, 4, 5; and Benkovitz 1981, p.20.

c.1885
Photograph, three-quarter-length, standing, age 13; prints colls U. of Reading Aubrey Beardsley Coll., MS160/8/5; and Gallatin Beardsley Coll., Princeton UL, C0056. Repr. Beardsley 1925, pl.5.

c.1890
Albumen cabinet prints by James Russell & Sons, two known poses:
(a) half-length to left, head slightly turned to viewer; see NPG P43.
(b) head-and-shoulders, head to right and looking slightly down; Bonhams, 23 Mar. 2010 (25); and Roy Davids Coll., Bonhams, London, 29 Mar. 2011 (15 [vignette]).

Platinum prints by Frederick Hollyer, at least six poses, all seated:
(a) full-face, half-length, left arm over chairback, right hand gripping knee; V&A, London, 7744-1938, Hollyer album vol.II, p.43. Repr. as unpubl., Walker 1923, no.24. See also Getty Images, 2672919.
(b) full-face, half-length, left hand in pocket, head on right hand; colls NPG P1828 (insc. by Beardsley 'from Aubrey Beardsley, 1893'), V&A, London, 7745-1938, Hollyer album vol.II, p.44; and Aubrey Beardsley Coll., Princeton UL, C0056.
(c) full-face, looking to right, half-length, right arm on window sill; NMM, Bradford, 2003-5001_2_20264 (old RPS 14187).
(d) full-face, half-length, right hand gripping chairback; Gallatin Beardsley Coll., Princeton UL, box 5, [Aubrey Beardsley Coll., Princeton UL] C0056.
(e) three-quarter-length, to left, profile to left, head slightly lowered, with drawing board on knee; Aubrey Beardsley Coll., Princeton UL, C0056.
(f) three-quarter-length, to left, full profile to left, head raised, with drawing board; Aubrey Beardsley Coll., Princeton UL, C0056.
For further copies of Hollyer prints c.1890, see V&A, London, Ph.29X-1972 (platinum print) and Ph.Y-1972 (two photogravures); Aubrey Beardsley Coll., Princeton UL, C0056 (six prints, five poses); and Gernsheim Coll., U. of Texas.
The Hollyer prints are primary photographic images of Beardsley.

c.1894
Two platinum prints by Frederick Henry Evans; see NPG P114, NPG P115.
The Evans prints are primary photographic images of Beardsley.

1897
Cabinet prints by W.J. Hawker, Bournemouth, Feb. 1897, at least two poses:
(a) three-quarter-length, seated to left, head raised, with book; untraced; Sotheby’s, 18 Nov. 1999 (118). See also Davids 2000, no.5.
(b) three-quarter-length, seated to left, head resting on right hand, reading book; colls U. of Reading Aubrey Beardsley Coll., MS160/8/8; and Aubrey Beardsley Coll., Princeton UL, C0056 (two prints). Repr. Beardsley 1899a; Brophy 1976, p.107; and Roy Davids Coll., Bonhams, London, 29 Mar. 2011 (260).

Silver gelatin print by Abel, Menton, late Nov.–early Dec. 1897, whole-length, seated to left at the Hotel Cosmopolitan; colls NPG x4608 (ex-coll. Sir Edmund Gosse); and Mark Samuels Lasner Coll., U. of Delaware (no acc. no.); see also Sotheby’s, 18 Nov. 1999 (123). Repr. Beardsley 1904 (photogravure frontispiece); and Stetz 2007, p.34. See Engen 2007, p.58.

c.1897
Photographs (process unknown) by unidentified photographer, sometimes attributed to Frederick Henry Evans, at least three poses, hair centrally parted, no fringe, wearing tweed suit:
(a) head and shoulders, full face, right hand raised to cheek, inscr. ‘Giulio Floriani / 1897’; Sotheby’s, 18 Dec. 1986 (32, ill.); and Davids 2000, no.4 (ill.).
(b) head and shoulders, slightly to left, head facing; Sotheby’s, 18 Dec. 1986 (30, ill.); Sotheby’s, 18 Nov. 1999 (122, ill.); and BM, London (reproduction, no details). Repr. Benkowitz 1981, p.165;
(c) half-length, looking to right, right hand below ear; Aubrey Beardsley Coll., Princeton UL, C0056. Repr. Walker 1955, p.111.


Footnotes
1) Information provided by Dr Linda Gertner Zatlin.
2) Information from Dr Zatlin.
3) Hickman (1975, p.61) claims the silhouette was made for the Savoy magazine, i.e. in 1896.
4) Harris 1967: the book contains a forgery and is an unreliable source. ‘The drawing on an envelope of AB as a fly in a tophat is on the sealed flap of an envelope addressed to Frederick H. Evans. According to Vallance (in Ross 1909, [133]) it was in the possession of J.M. Dent. There is a platinotype in the Library of Congress Pennell-Whistler Collection.’ Information from Dr Zatlin.
5) Information from Dr Zatlin.
6) Dr Zatlin considers this a fake.
7) See NPG Description of Portraits, vol.xiii, no.51, NPG 87/13, NPG Archive: pencil profile sketch inscr. ‘v. dark claret coat / blue sky / Ch of S Jacque faintly indicated / Aubrey Bearsley by Conder / lost picture about 42 x 28 / drawn from memory by CJ H[olmes]’. In summer 1895 Conder was lodging by the church of St Jacques, Dieppe, and in August he and Beardsley were drawing together, though they were soon to quarrel (see Blanche 1937, pp.40, 93 passim). In 1896 Charles Holmes shared lodgings with Conder in Dieppe; see Galbally 2002, pp.141, 179.

Carol Blackett-Ord