Charles Ricketts and Charles Shannon
A partnership of half a century
Charles Ricketts (1866–1931) and Charles Shannon (1863–1931) lived and worked together at The Vale in Chelsea for most of their adult lives – a same-sex partnership open to their circle even if unnamed. Ricketts was a painter, designer, illustrator and sculptor; Shannon a painter. Together they founded the art journal The Dial and made their home a salon for the Aesthetic Movement.
Oscar Wilde was a close friend; Ricketts designed the binding of The Picture of Dorian Gray, and after his release from prison Wilde came to The Vale to see him. Their collection of Japanese prints, Greek vases and Old Master drawings went to the Fitzwilliam Museum. When Shannon fell in 1929 and lost his memory, Ricketts nursed him until his death – and died himself within weeks. They called it nothing. They called each other everything.