"Henry James Framed is a beautifully produced book."—Daniel A. Burr, Gay & Lesbian Review
“Who knew there were so many portraits of Henry James? Henry James Framed is both an engaging catalogue of these images and a collective biography that invites us to see the artist through the eyes of some of his most visually gifted contemporaries.”—Ruth Bernard Yeazell, Sterling Professor of English at Yale University
“In his sparkling Henry James Framed Michael Anesko takes us on a characteristically witty and civilized journey through James’s life and career—through the surprising number of likenesses (and unlikenesses) that were made of him between 1862 and 1914. Through brilliant detective work, we get a delightful, stimulating picture of the social and artistic world of this great novelist who was also an inveterate critic of art—and, as we learn, frequently its subject.”—Philip Horne, founding general editor of The Cambridge Edition of the Complete Fiction of Henry James series
“Michael Anesko freshly and incisively illuminates Henry James’s relationships with artists, the circumstances of his sitting for portraits, the critical (and personal) reception of the finished works, and the provenance of the pieces during and after James’s life. Henry James Framed is a delight to read.”—Linda Simon, author of The Critical Reception of Henry James: Creating a Master
“This useful volume provides fascinating tales of how the portraits were received privately and in public exhibitions, as well as when and how they changed hands, were sold or bequeathed. Anesko provides well-researched tracings of the histories of these works and the stories each portrait has to tell, deploying his extensive knowledge of James’s life and writings with an incisive touch.”—Tamara Follini, general editor of The Cambridge Edition of the Complete Fiction of Henry James series
