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Oscar Wilde, Sarah Bernhardt, and the Murderous Princess

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Oscar Wilde, Sarah Bernhardt, and the Murderous Princess
10/11/12---With David Rodes, Director Emeritus, The Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts. The Irish writer and wit Oscar Wilde and his friend the French actress Sarah Bernhardt were two of the most famous celebrities of late 19th-century Europe. Their collaboration in the 1890s on the theatrical tragedy Salome was inspired by the shimmering painting by Gustave Moreau, but by the time the play had its premiere in Paris in 1896, Bernhardt cast as the young princess, was over 50 and Wilde was serving a two-year sentence for sodomy in an English prison. Nevertheless, as Wilde would assert, "Legend remains victorious in spite of history," and this program hopes to recapture the scandalous excitement of the play and its starring actress and imprisoned author. (Run Time 49 min.)
A Portrait of Sarah Bernhardt
Each Wednesday, the Hammer's curatorial department leads free and insightful 15-minute discussions about works of art on view in the museum. In this video David Rodes, director emeritus of the Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts, discusses Alfred Steven's "Portrait of Sarah Bernhardt" (1885). (Run time: 5 min.)

With David Rodes, director emeritus, The Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts

The Irish writer and wit Oscar Wilde and his friend the French actress Sarah Bernhardt were two of the most famous celebrities of late 19th-century Europe. Their collaboration in the 1890s on the theatrical tragedy Salome was inspired by the shimmering painting by Gustave Moreau, but by the time the play had its premiere in Paris in 1896, Bernhardt—cast as the young princess—was over 50 and Wilde was serving a two-year sentence for sodomy in an English prison. Nevertheless, as Wilde would assert, “Legend remains victorious in spite of history,” and this program hopes to recapture the scandalous excitement of the play and its starring actress and imprisoned author.

Presented in conjunction with A Strange Magic: Gustave Moreau's Salome.

All Hammer public programs are free and made possible by a major gift from the Dream Fund at UCLA.

Generous support is also provided by Susan Bay Nimoy and Leonard Nimoy, the Simms/Mann Family Foundation, The Brotman Foundation of California, Good Works Foundation and Laura Donnelley, and all Hammer members.

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