◇ After
Oscar Wilde (studio portrait, New York) · Napoleon Sarony, 1882
The studio sitting on its own this time. Fur-collared coat, long centre-parted hair, chin propped in one hand, the other on the cane, and the title names the sitter.
“After” is the old gallery word for a work made in open conversation with another. It is a lineage, not a shortcut.
◇ Piece Room
No owners on the platform yet. The room is waiting for the first.