Item 73: Gerald Scarfe. "I Have Nothing to Declare but My Flippancy" (2002)

The history of British celebrity caricature in the twentieth century and beyond is the record of artists who not only learned from Beerbohm but openly paid tribute. This roster of fans—mainly men—includes Gerald Scarfe, who is best known for creating the visual design of Pink Floyd’s The Wall (1979). Few, though, ever dared to do what Scarfe attempted: to revisit one of Beerbohm’s own subjects and work a “flippant” variation on it. Scarfe’s drawing of Oscar Wilde was inscribed with his acknowledgment that it was done as homage to Beerbohm’s version of Wilde: “thanx Max.”