Aubrey BeardsleyBritish, 1872–1898The Abbé
May one see it?
Not receiving at present
London, United Kingdom
It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
Particulars
- Accession number
- E.305-1972
In the catalog
Sources
- Victoria and Albert Museum
- Image: Victoria and Albert Museum — © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Meanwhile, in the life of Aubrey Beardsley
The whole life1894
Art editor of The Yellow Book
In 1894 Beardsley, together with the American writer Henry Harland, became art editor of The Yellow Book; for its first four issues he produced the covers and many illustrations.
1894–1896
His health sharply declines
Between 1894 and 1896, at the height of his success, his health sharply deteriorated. “I know my illness is incurable,” he wrote to Raffalovich, “but I am sure measures can be taken to slow its course.”
April 1895
Wilde's arrest costs him The Yellow Book
When Oscar Wilde was arrested in April 1895, a journalist mistakenly wrote that he had taken “the yellow book” to prison rather than simply a yellow-covered book. For Victorian England that was enough: Beardsley lost his place at the magazine and his livelihood.
December 1896
A violent haemorrhage
In December 1896 Beardsley suffered a violent haemorrhage, which left his health precarious.
31 March 1897
Received into the Catholic Church
On 31 March 1897 Beardsley was received into the Catholic Church. His close friends included both Anglican clergymen and Catholic priests, who acknowledged the sincerity and depth of his faith.
April 1897
Moves to Menton
By April 1897 his failing health prompted a move to the French Riviera, to Menton. There he was cared for by his mother and his sister Mabel, while his chief financial support came from the writer and patron Marc-André Raffalovich.
