Thornton Wilder
PhotographerPhotographed by
Rosalie Thorne McKenna
American, 1918 - 2003
Date1951
MediumPhotography; gelatin silver print dry mounted to mat board
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (image height x width): 13 7/8 x 9in. (35.2 x 22.9cm)
Sheet (height x width): 13 7/8 x 9in. (35.2 x 22.9cm)
Mount (height x width): 13 7/8 x 9in. (35.2 x 22.9cm)
Sheet (height x width): 13 7/8 x 9in. (35.2 x 22.9cm)
Mount (height x width): 13 7/8 x 9in. (35.2 x 22.9cm)
ClassificationsGraphics
Credit LineGift of the Rosalie Thorne McKenna Foundation
DescriptionClose-cropped portrait of a man wearing dark-rimmed eyeglasses. He is holding his index finger in front of his mouth and is looking slightly down.
Object number2011.344.1131
Copyright© The Rosalie Thorne McKenna Foundation
MarkingsVerso of mount, center, typed on label: "Glenway Wescott, in Images of Truth wrote / of Thornton Wilder, "At the conclusion / [of a story] he held is forefinger up- / right and briefly pressed it to his lips / (A good photographer named Rollie McKenna / has photographed him doing this.) It is / the gesture of the Patron saint of / Czechoslovakia, St. John of Nepomuk, who / was martyred for refusing to divulge / secrets of the confessional, and who / protects pious Roman Catholics from libel / and slander."Center, right, stamped in black ink: "COPYRIGHT"InscribedVerso of mat board, center, pencil: "THORNTON WILDER"NotesSubject Note: Thornton Wilder (1897-1975) was an American playwright and novelist. He received his BA from Yale in 1920, and his MA from Princeton in 1926. Over the course of his career, he won three Pulitzer prizes: in 1928, for "The Bridge of San Luis Rey," in 1938 for "Our Town," and in 1942 for "The Skin of Our Teeth." Despite his considerable literary success, Wilder considered himself a teacher first and a writer second; he taught at Lawrenceville School (New Jersey), the University of Chicago, the University of Hawaii, and Harvard. In 1963, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He lived in Hamden, Connecticut, with his sister Isabel.
Masterpiece Theater, "Thornton Wilder," http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/americancollection/ourtown/ei_wilder.html
Collections
- Women Photographers
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