Head of Oscar Wilde

Head of Oscar Wilde. . , The Head of Oscar Wilde' was created by Sir Eduardo Luigi Paolozzi CBE [1924 - 2005] , Paolozzi was born in Leith, Edinburgh, Scotland, the son of Italian immigrants. He lived and worked primarily in England and his studio was nearby in Dovehouse Street. Paolozzi worked predominantly as a sculptor, printmaker and textile designer, alongside teaching commitments in England and Germany, including at the Royal College of Art. , In 1998, The Chelsea Society commissioned Paolozzi to propose a public sculpture and the artist chose to commemorate the poet and playwright Oscar Wilde [1854 - 1900] but the project could not be realised before the artist's death. , To coincide with the centenary of Paolozzi's birth and Wilde's 170th birthday on 16 October 2024, a posthumous casting commissioned by the Paolozzi Foundation with the support of Kensington and Chelsea Council was installed. , Utilising the original casting model, the piece was created by Pangolin Editions, a foundry that Paolozzi worked with during his career, under the overall supervision of Paolozzi's former studio assistant. Dovehouse Green is an ancient churchyard belonging to St Luke's Church and Christ Church. , Born in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Oscar Wilde lived in Chelsea for much of his creative life, in nearby Tite Street. , Here, Wilde wrote many celebrated works including The Importance of Being Earnest', ‘Lady Windermere's Fan’ and ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’. After a notorious libel case against the Marquess of Queensberry, Wilde was himself arrested at The Cadogan Hotel, Sloane Street and sentenced to two years imprisonment with hard labour. Wilde is buried in Père Lachaise Cemetery, Paris, France. In 2017, Wilde was pardoned posthumously.