An ink drawing of a large man holding an oversized quill and pencil, with a smaller figure peeking out from under a curtain behind him.
Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College
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Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College

The ink drawing depicts a portly winged figure holding a quill and a double-sided pencil that are half his height. In his left hand is a sheet of paper that reads “PROSPECTUS NUMBER I DECEMBER 1895”. He wears a large cape and a lapeled, double-breasted waistcoat. He wears a top hat and winged boots. He is standing on what looks like a stage floor, and a small child is peeking out from underneath the curtain behind him. Floral wreaths with bows stretch across the bottom of the image.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
1986.674
People
Aubrey Vincent Beardsley, British (Brighton, England 1872 - 1898 Menton, France)
Title
John Bull, Prospectus Cover, "The Savoy," second version
Classification
Drawings
Work Type
drawing
Date
1895
Culture
British
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/295013

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Black ink and graphite on white paper
Dimensions
24.3 x 17 cm (9 9/16 x 6 11/16 in.)

State, Edition, Standard Reference Number

Standard Reference Number
Zatlin 988

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Bequest of Scofield Thayer
Accession Year
1986
Object Number
1986.674
Division
European and American Art
Contact
am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Publication History

  • Linda Gertner Zatlin, Aubrey Beardsley and Victorian Sexual Politics, The Clarendon Press (Oxford, England, 1990), p. 42, fig. 14
  • Chris Snodgrass, Aubrey Beardsley: Dandy of the Grotesque, Oxford University Press (NY) and Oxford University Press (UK) (New York, NY and Oxford, England, 1995), fig. 1-2, p. 9
  • James Dempsey, The Tortured Life of Scofield Thayer, University Press of Florida (Gainesville, FL, 2014), pp. 58, 186
  • Linda Gertner Zatlin, Aubrey Beardsley: A Catalogue Raisonné, Yale University Press (U.S.) (New Haven and London, 2016), vol. 2, no. 988, pp. 239-242, 249, repr. p. 241

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of European and American Art at am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu