Wilson, Michael G., 1942-

Collection donor Michael G. Wilson is best known as the producer and screenwriter of films in the James Bond series. Wilson, born in New York City in 1942, obtained degrees in electrical engineering and law and later joined the film business of his stepfather, Albert R. Broccoli. In 2008 he was made an officer of the Order of the British Empire. In addition to his work in film, Wilson is a noted collector and expert in nineteenth-century photography, and co-authored the book Pictorialism in California with Dennis Read. Félicien Rops was born on July 7, 1833, in Namur, Belgium, and moved to Brussels at the age of 20 where he enrolled in the Atelier Libre de St Luc. Working at first primarily in lithography, Rops' artistic career began with his caricatures of political figures published in a student paper, Le Crocodile, and later in a satirical weekly he founded, L'Uylenspiegel. By 1865 Rops had mostly ceased working in lithography; in 1862 he learned etching and traveled to Paris to study the technique with leading practitioners, Félix Bracquemond and Jules Jacquemart. In 1868, along with fifteen other Belgian artists, Rops helped establish the Société de l'Art Libre. The Société was formed to promote artistic freedom and to advance the Realist movement, in reaction against the official Brussels Salon. The following year Rops created the Société Internationale des Aquafortistes; members of the Société included Rops' fellow printer and collaborator, François Nys. Later, after the dissolution of these two groups, Rops joined another group of Belgian artists calling themselves Les XX, formed in 1883 by Octave Maus. During the years 1864 to 1871, Rops created engraved illustrations for publisher Auguste Poulet-Malassis. Through this collaboration Rops came to befriend Charles Baudelaire who commissioned him to create the frontispiece to his Les Epaves in 1866. Beginning in the mid-1860s Rops also produced illustrations for the Gay and Doucé printing house, including illustrations for a minuscule edition of "Les Bas-Fonds de la Société." Rops was well known for his depictions of erotic scenes, often incorporating satyrs and devils. His work earned him the admiration of many of the most prominent Symbolist authors and he was reputed to be highly paid for illustrations of their work. Rops died on August 23, 1898 at his home in Essonnes, France.

From the description of The Michael G. Wilson collection of Félicien Rops letters and other material, circa 1864-circa 1910 (Los Angeles County Museum of Art). WorldCat record id: 773829095

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