Oscar Wilde, c. 1882 by Napoleon Sarony

Oscar Wilde, c. 1882, by Napoleon Sarony shows the Irish writer reclining on a fur rug in Sarony's New York studio, notebook in hand, during the sitting that produced his most celebrated portraits. Sarony (1821–1896) was one of Gilded Age New York's foremost celebrity photographers, and this image — known as “Oscar Wilde No. 18” — became the subject of the landmark 1884 U.S. Supreme Court case Burrow-Giles Lithographic Co. v. Sarony, which established that photographs are entitled to copyright protection.

Artist: Napoleon Sarony (1821–1896). Date: 1882.

Oscar Wilde, c. 1882. Historic Literary Portrait Photography Canvas Print.