By Jack Fifield
The last ever photograph of Oscar Wilde has sold at auction for just shy of $377,000 – almost 100 times its estimated price.
A collection of 156 items relating to the famed Irish author and poet was sold for more than $2,159,000 combined on February 18.
One of the items – a photograph of Wilde on his deathbed, taken hours after his death on November 30, 1900 – sold for $377,000.
It had been estimated to sell for between $3,000 and $5,000 as part of the sale at Bonhams in Knightsbridge, central London.
The author, who was imprisoned for his homosexuality and later died in France, was among thousands of gay men granted posthumous pardons in 2017.
The lot of items featured the collection of noted Wilde collector of 60 years Jeremy Mason.
Items sold included autographed manuscripts and drafts of the 1881 poem ‘The Grave of Shelley’, sold for $60,090, and a series of autographed letters sold for $57,550.
Other items included a sketch of the author by E.H. Shepard and a photograph of Lord Alfred Douglas, Wilde’s ex-lover.
Wilde was imprisoned after Wilde brought a failed libel case against Douglas’s father, who had accused him of committing homosexual sex acts.
Matthew Haley, Bonhams head of fine books and manuscripts, said: “We are delighted with the results of this incredible sale celebrating the extraordinary life of Oscar Wilde.
“From 19th-century scandal to worldwide appeal, it shows how much Wilde’s legacy lives on and is more enticing to collectors than ever.
“It was a privilege to bring Jeremy Mason’s exceptional collection to auction.”
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