In Fin-de-Siecle London a single street became the location for artists and writers. Tite Street was beautifully described by Oscar Wilde, one of its famous residents, as ‘the street of wonderful possibilities’.
Devon Cox’s fascinating book takes its name from Wilde’s quote. Seeing the street and its residents as London’s answer to Paris’s Left Bank, he moves in and out of the rooms and lives of Wilde, Whistler and Sargent.
The last of these, John Singer Sargent, an American expat painter, recorded the famous faces of his times with a remarkable sensitivity, many visiting his Tite Street home. Talking of home, the following painting, ‘Dr. Pozzi at Home’ is one of my favourites:
Rufus Wainwright’s brilliant song ‘The Art Teacher’ name checks the great painter – ‘I liked the John Singer Sargents’…I agree – I like them too!
