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Picture of Dorian Gray

A graphic, grotesque painting of a balding, bug-eyed man with white hair and decaying flesh and open boils in dominant shades of gray and magenta, his clothing tattered and torn. Behind him, a crumbling home is suggested through objects and voids of space rendered in swirls of prismatic colors like those reflected by an oil slick: dark purples, greens, blues.
© The Art Institute of Chicago.

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  • A graphic, grotesque painting of a balding, bug-eyed man with white hair and decaying flesh and open boils in dominant shades of gray and magenta, his clothing tattered and torn. Behind him, a crumbling home is suggested through objects and voids of space rendered in swirls of prismatic colors like those reflected by an oil slick: dark purples, greens, blues.

Date:

1943–44

Artist:

Ivan Albright (American, 1897–1983)

About this artwork

Chicago artist Ivan Albright executed this grisly work for the 1945 movie adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s 1891 novel The Picture of Dorian Gray. In Wilde’s tale, a portrait of the young and attractive Gray decays as the protagonist leads an increasingly wayward life, recording the extent of his moral corruption in paint. Having established a reputation for capturing the macabre, Albright was the ideal choice to create such a horrific image that both attracts and repulses its viewers. The portrait appeared in vivid Technicolor, within the otherwise black-and-white film, causing a sensation. When Albright’s canvas was exhibited at the Art Institute later that year, the Chicago Tribune reported that the museum “is having a heck of a time handling the crowds flocking to see his painting.”

Status

On View, Gallery 263

Department

Arts of the Americas

Artist

Ivan Albright

Title

Picture of Dorian Gray

Place

United States (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1943–1944

Medium

Oil on canvas

Inscriptions

Signed lower left: Ivan Le Lorraine Albright

Dimensions

215.9 × 106.7 cm (85 × 42 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Ivan Albright

Reference Number

1977.21

Copyright

© The Art Institute of Chicago.

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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