Saturday, February 28, 2015

The Early Work of Aubrey Beardsley

Aubrey Beardsley - The Early Work of Aubrey Beardsley (1899)

Open Library direct link
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Beardsley is hardly any kind of discovery or oddity but this is a nice collection.  The introduction claims that far from the Beardsley "craze" (his quotes) being over, the interest was just beginning.  Over a century later there may not be any craze but Beardsley hasn't faded away.  The collection includes a wide selection of his work from illustrations for Salome in the familiar style to book plates to title pages to border designs.  There are some ink and wash portraits that almost appear to be from a different artist and even some designs for coins.

There is a companion volume The Later Work of Aubrey Beardsley.