George Bernard Shaw 1938
George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950) was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 1880s to his death and beyond.
He wrote more than sixty plays, including major works such as Man and Superman (1902), Pygmalion (1913) and Saint Joan (1923). In 1925 was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Original black and white photo by Marcel Sternberger. Shaw was reluctant at first to even sit for Sternberger and said he wouldn't "buy a single picture". After seeing samples of the photos, he changed his mind and order 50 copies of one. Sternberger was reluctant to produce so many portraits without payment, but eventually complied.
Shaw sent the photographer an envelope filled with numerous small checks. Shaw said, “[It’s] very simple: My autograph is worth more [than each check]; you can sell the checks to autograph collectors and get yourself some more money [than the portraits cost] which you deserve; they won’t cash the checks, so the whole transaction won’t cost me a penny.”
George Bernard Shaw 1938
George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950) was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 1880s to his death and beyond.
He wrote more than sixty plays, including major works such as Man and Superman (1902), Pygmalion (1913) and Saint Joan (1923). In 1925 was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Original black and white photo by Marcel Sternberger. Shaw was reluctant at first to even sit for Sternberger and said he wouldn't "buy a single picture". After seeing samples of the photos, he changed his mind and order 50 copies of one. Sternberger was reluctant to produce so many portraits without payment, but eventually complied.
Shaw sent the photographer an envelope filled with numerous small checks. Shaw said, “[It’s] very simple: My autograph is worth more [than each check]; you can sell the checks to autograph collectors and get yourself some more money [than the portraits cost] which you deserve; they won’t cash the checks, so the whole transaction won’t cost me a penny.”