Charles Wisner Barrell

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Charles Wisner Barrell
Born(1885-07-06)6 July 1885
Died20 June 1974(1974-06-20) (aged 88)
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)Journalist; Writer; Public relations
Years activec.1907–1970s
Notable workIdentifying Shakespeare

Charles Wisner Barrell (6 July 1885 – 20 June 1974) was an American writer. He first became significant as an art critic, promoting realism. He later built a career as an early exponent of public relations and as a documentary film maker.

In his later life he became a prominent supporter of the Oxfordian theory of Shakespeare authorship, making significant contributions to the theory. His claims for the Ashbourne portrait were particularly influential.

Career

"Jack Roses Overboard", poem by Barrell published in Munsey's Magazine, 1907

Born in Warwick, New York, Barrell was the son of Charles Wisner Barrell senior and his wife Mary.

Barrell established himself as a miscellaneous writer in the early 20th century, publishing verse, essays and criticism. He wrote widely on contemporary art and was a strong supporter of the

John French Sloan in his etchings.[2]

He later worked in

Bell Telephone Laboratories. He also produced and directed documentary films for Western Electric.[3]

He married Mary Sabsovich.

Advocate of Oxfordian theory

He became an ardent advocate of J. Thomas Looney's theory that the works of Shakespeare were written by Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford. He wrote many essays in support of this view.

In 1934 he came to England looking for archival evidence to link de Vere to the works of Shakespeare. He hoped to identify the illegitimate son of Oxford and

Fair Youth of the sonnets. He successfully identified Edward Vere, the couple's son, publishing his findings in 1941.[4] When the Second World War curtailed his activities in England, Barrell helped to establish an American branch of the Shakespeare Fellowship and publish a newsletter.[5]

Theories

Barrell claimed to find hidden references to Oxford's secret authorship in the writings of

Irvin Matus later demonstrated that Oxford had sold the house 42 years earlier.[7]

Ashbourne portrait

The Ashbourne portrait as it now appears after restoration.

He is best known for his studies of

Cornelius Ketel, an artist known to have painted a portrait of the Earl of Oxford. Later studies contradicted Barrell's evidence, identifying the portrait's sitter as Hugh Hamersley. Barrell also claimed that the Janssen portrait depicted the earl. More recent studies identify it as a portrayal of Thomas Overbury.[8]

References

  1. ^ Allan Antliff, Anarchist Modernism: Art, Politics, and the First American Avant-Garde, University of Chicago Press, 2001, p.17.
  2. ^ Robert H. Bremner, From the Depths: The Discovery of Poverty in the United States, New York University Press, New York, 1956, p.298
  3. ^ Pressly, William L. "The Ashbourne Portrait of Shakespeare: Through the Looking Glass." Shakespeare Quarterly. (1993) 54–72.
  4. ^ Alan H. Nelson, Monstrous Adversary:The Life of Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, Liverpool University Press, Liverpool, 2003, p.472; Barrell, Charles Wisner (1941–42), '"Shake-speare's" Own Secret Drama: Discovery of Hidden Facts in the Private Life of Edward de Vere, Proves Him Author of the Bard's Sonnets ', Shakespeare Fellowship Newsletter, 3, pp. 1–5, 13–17, 23–33, 45–52, 57–65, 69–77.
  5. ISBN 978-0-7864-3917-1
    .
  6. ^ Barrell, Charles Wisner. “Oxford vs. Other ‘Claimants’ of the Edwards Shakespearean Honors, 1593” Archived 2012-03-18 at the Wayback Machine; The Shakespeare Fellowship Quarterly (Summer 1948)
  7. ^ Thomas A. Pendleton review of Irvin Matus's Shakespeare, IN FACT, The Shakespeare Newsletter, Summer 1994.
  8. ^ Folger Shakespeare Library Archived 2011-11-19 at the Wayback Machine

External links

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