My Fair Lady

Today, I found the answer to something I had been wondering about for decades.

One of my favorite movies is "My Fair Lady" and I have seen it many times. But it was after several viewings that I noticed something I had not seen before - a painting in Henry Higgins' house which is visible in a few of the interior scenes.

The painting is "Solitude" by Frederick, Lord Leighton. I know that it is "Solitude" because I have a copy of the same painting hanging on the wall of my home office.

Why do I have a copy of this painting? Because when I was a child, my step-grandfather, Clifford R. Dolph, was the director and caretaker of the "Maryhill Museum of Fine Art" and when he retired, my step-father took over the position.

We lived on the museum grounds and spent countless hours within the museum. The Lord Leighton painting was acquired for the museum by the elder Dolph while on an art-finding tour of Europe in the 1960s.

Of all the wonderful works of art on display within the walls of Maryhill, "Solitude" was my favorite. So much so, that many years later I acquired a copy to display in my own home.

When I noticed the same painting hanging on the wall of Henry Higgins' home in certain scenes of the 1964 film "My Fair Lady" I was at first thrilled to see "my" favorite painting there. It hinted at a common admiration for the work of the art.

Then, as I thought about it more, it struck me as out-of-place in the Higgins household. As a confirmed bachelor and a scientific fellow who seemed to have very little use for females in general, why should Professor Higgins adorn a wall of his home with such an romantic and elegant depiction of a contemplative woman?

Today, I discovered the answer.

The 1964 film "My Fair Lady" was a musical famously based on the 1934 film "Pygmalion" which was adapted from the 1913 stage play "Pygmalion" which was written by George Bernard Shaw.

Shaw's inspiration for the story, came from the real-life story of Ada Alice Pullan (later known in London society as Dorothy Dene), born in London in 1859. She was the eldest sister in a large family. Around the age of 21, her mother died and her father abandoned the family, leaving Ada to care for herself and younger siblings.

The following brief biography by Bobb Edwards was located at the Find A Grave website:

"At that time most working-class women in her position were forced into prostitution to survive. Fortunately for Dene, she met Frederick Leighton (later Lord Leighton), one of the most famous English painters of the era. Nearly 30 years her senior, Leighton was captivated by Dene's beauty. She became his favorite model and muse, appearing in many of his celebrated late canvases, including "The Bath of Psyche" and "Flaming June." Taking on the roles of both lover and father figure, Leighton educated her and introduced her to fashionable society. When she expressed a desire to become an actress, he came up with her stage name and did what he could to further her career. George Bernard Shaw knew Leighton and Dene and their unconventional relationship almost certainly was the basis for "Pygmalion," with Leighton the model for the fictional Professor Henry Higgins. Dene appeared on the London stage for ten years, playing second leads and supporting roles in works by Shakespeare, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, and Oscar Wilde, but stardom eluded her and she retired in 1894. It is through Leighton's idealized paintings of her that she remains one of the most recognizable figures in Victorian art. When Leighton died in 1896 he left Dene a considerable amount of money, which she did not live to enjoy; she died at 40 after a long illness three years later. She never married."

I now believe that the inclusion of the Leighton painting in the movie "My Fair Lady" was a nod to the original "Eliza Doolittle," the one George Bernard Shaw had actually met.

Dorothy Dene (Ada Alice Pullen) died on this date (Dec 27) in 1899.