The Rainbow MinuteThe Rainbow Minute

 Tuesday, October 23, 2012

As part of Oscar Wilde’s American tour, he arrived in Richmond, Virginia on July 11, 1882.  The newspaper The State reported he had arrived from Norfolk.  While touring the capital of the Confederacy, he alluded to the Civil War Confederate soldiers, saying, “this is indeed a city worth dying for.”  A signed guest book indicates he also visited the studios of sculptor Edward V. Valentine.

That evening he would lecture at the Richmond Theatre on the topic, “Decorative Arts,” with about 200 people gathering to hear the one-hour talk.  Many were curious to see him in person and were surprised to see he was of “more massive propositions than many expected.”

Wilde continued his American tour into October, which helped establish his expertise in “matters of art and