Grotesques by Aubrey Beardsley. Portrait Frontispiece (1910s)

Aubrey Vincent Beardsley prints bring the sweeping black lines and elegant patterns of one of the most original illustrators of all time into your home. In just six years of work before his death at 25, Beardsley drew Oscar Wilde's Salome, designed the covers of The Yellow Book and shaped Art Nouveau graphic style. Our collection of fine art prints includes his illustrations, magazine covers, grotesques and decorative designs.

About Aubrey Vincent Beardsley

Aubrey Vincent Beardsley was born in Brighton on 21 August 1872. His family lost its money soon after his birth and moved to London in 1883, where they lived in rented rooms and struggled with poverty. As a boy he performed in concerts as a musical prodigy, and at Brighton Grammar School his first poems and drawings appeared in the school magazine. He then worked in an architect's office and an insurance company.

In 1892 he visited Paris, where he discovered the posters of Toulouse-Lautrec and the fashion for Japanese prints. His first commission was a lavish edition of Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur for J. M. Dent (1893). He co-founded The Yellow Book with Henry Harland in 1894 and designed its first four issues, and illustrated Oscar Wilde's play Salome.

After Wilde's arrest in April 1895 Beardsley lost his post at The Yellow Book. He co-founded The Savoy, illustrated Pope's The Rape of the Lock and a private edition of Aristophanes' Lysistrata. He suffered from tuberculosis all his life, converted to Catholicism in 1897, and died at Menton on the French Riviera on 16 March 1898, aged 25.

Style and Subjects

Beardsley drew in black ink on white paper, using bold areas of solid black, fine flowing lines and empty white space. Japanese woodcuts shaped his flat, elegant designs, and his figures are long, stylised and often strange.

His subjects range from Arthurian romance and eighteenth-century elegance to the grotesque, the decadent and the openly erotic. He was a leading figure of the Aesthetic Movement, alongside Oscar Wilde and James McNeill Whistler, and a major influence on Art Nouveau and poster design.

Famous Works

• Le Morte d'Arthur (1893). His first commission, a richly decorated edition of Malory's Arthurian tales.
• The Yellow Book, Volume I (1894), Yale Center for British Art. His cover for the first issue of the famous quarterly.
• Salome (1894). His illustrations for Oscar Wilde's play, his most famous work.
• The Black Cat (1894). An illustration for Edgar Allan Poe's tale.
• A Large Christmas Card (1895), Yale Center for British Art. A Madonna and Child in his flowing line.
• The Toilet, from The Rape of the Lock. A lady at her dressing table, from Pope's mock-heroic poem.
• The Lady at the Dressing Table (1897), Yale Center for British Art. One of his late, finely detailed drawings.

Decorating with Beardsley Prints

Beardsley's black-and-white drawings suit modern and period interiors alike. They look striking against white, grey or deep green walls in slim black or gold frames, and a set of Yellow Book covers or Salome plates makes a bold gallery wall in a hallway, study or library.

His Morte d'Arthur borders and decorative designs suit a reading room or bedroom, and the Rape of the Lock plates work well in a dressing room. Some of his erotic and grotesque work is best kept for private spaces.

FAQ

What is Aubrey Beardsley most famous for?

He is most famous for his black-and-white illustrations for Oscar Wilde's Salome and his covers and drawings for The Yellow Book.

What art movement was Beardsley part of?

Beardsley was a leading figure of the Aesthetic Movement and an important influence on Art Nouveau and poster design.

How old was Aubrey Beardsley when he died?

He died of tuberculosis at Menton on 16 March 1898, aged 25, after only about six years of creative work.

What influenced Beardsley's style?

Japanese woodcuts strongly influenced his flat, elegant compositions, and he admired Toulouse-Lautrec's posters in Paris.

Where can I see Beardsley's drawings?

Collections include the Yale Center for British Art, Tate and the National Gallery of Art in Washington.

Related Artists

• Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones: Pre-Raphaelite painter of the same era of British art
• Walter Crane: British illustrator and designer of the same era
• Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec: French poster artist whose work he discovered in Paris
• Will Bradley: American designer often called "the American Beardsley"