Elizabeth Peyton is an American contemporary artist born in 1965 who studied at the school of visual arts and is now well known all over. She is most known for her portraits of famous celebrities and historical figures as well as her signature muted palette that she uses for most of her work. Much of her work centres around the idea of obsession or idolisation of another person or figure and a great example of this is her 1998 lithograph titled “Oscar and Bosie”. This piece is a portrait of the famous author and playwright, Oscar Wilde, and his lover, Lord Alfred Douglas (commonly called “Bosie”). Oscar fell deeply in love with Bosie and did everything that he asked for. Many believed that Bosie simply used him for his money and fame. Oscars idolisation of Bosie inevitably ended in his imprisonment for homosexuality, which at the time was a crime in England. Peyton shows the heartbreak and hardship of the couple through the simple black and white colour palette and the sombre tone of the whole piece.
