Elsie Wright
[Frances and the Flying Fairy]

[Frances and the Flying Fairy]

© Glenn Hill

[Frances and the Flying Fairy]
[Frances and the Flying Fairy]
ArtistEnglish, 1901–1988
CultureEnglish
Titles
  • [Frances and the Flying Fairy]
Date1920
MediumGelatin silver print with applied color
DimensionsImage: 7 11/16 × 5 9/16 in. (19.5 × 14.2 cm)
 Sheet: 8 × 6 in. (20.3 × 15.2 cm)
 Mount: 8 × 6 in. (20.3 × 15.2 cm)
Credit LineMuseum purchase funded by Photo Forum 2019
Object number2019.58
Not on view

Explore Further

Department
Photography
Object Type
DescriptionIn 1917, in one of the greatest photographic hoaxes of all time, 16-year-old Elsie Wright and her cousin, 9-year-old Frances Griffiths, claimed to have photographed the fairies who lived by a stream behind their home in the village of Cottingley, Yorkshire. Little did they know that their practical joke would stir enormous controversy and fool such eminent figures as the creator of Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who encouraged them three years later to capture additional images of the fairies, including this one.
Provenance[Dominic Winter Auctioneers, Cirencester, England, April 11, 2019, Lot 341]; purchased by MFAH, 2019.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
Inscribed in pencil, recto, lower right corner: C
Inscribed in pencil, verso, center: [illegible mark]

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

If you have questions about this work of art or the MFAH Online Collection please contact us.

Alice and the Fairies
Elsie Wright
Alice and the Fairies
July 1917
Gelatin silver print
2019.423
Iris and the Gnome
Elsie Wright
Iris and the Gnome
July 1917
Gelatin silver print
2019.442
Cho tonde waga mi mo chiri no tagui kana (Oh flying butterfly I feel myself a creature of dust)
Stanton Macdonald-Wright
Cho tonde waga mi mo chiri no tagui kana (Oh flying butterfly I feel myself a creature of dust)
1966–1967
Woodcut in colors on Japanese paper, edition 44/50
2021.420.15
Flying Lawn Chair
François Deschamps
Flying Lawn Chair
1983
Cyanotype with applied color
89.38
Nani kite mo utsukushiku naru tsukimi kana (No matter what we wear, we are beautiful when moon viewing)
Stanton Macdonald-Wright
Nani kite mo utsukushiku naru tsukimi kana (No matter what we wear, we are beautiful when moon viewing)
1966–1967
Woodcut in colors on Japanese paper, edition 44/50
2021.420.19
Waregane no hibiki mo atsushi natsu no tsuki (The sound of a cracked temple bell is also hot under a summer moon)
Stanton Macdonald-Wright
Waregane no hibiki mo atsushi natsu no tsuki (The sound of a cracked temple bell is also hot under a summer moon)
1966–1967
Woodcut in colors on Japanese paper, edition 44/50
2021.420.20
Te no uchi ni hotaru tsumetaki hikari kana (In the hand the fire fly makes a cold brilliance)
Stanton Macdonald-Wright
Te no uchi ni hotaru tsumetaki hikari kana (In the hand the fire fly makes a cold brilliance)
1966–1967
Woodcut in colors on Japanese paper, edition 44/50
2021.420.18
Osoki hi no tsumorite toki mukashi kana (Slow days piling up, how distant they seem, these past times,)
Stanton Macdonald-Wright
Osoki hi no tsumorite toki mukashi kana (Slow days piling up, how distant they seem, these past times,)
1966–1967
Woodcut in colors on Japanese paper, edition 44/50
2021.420.11
Kojima nimo hatake utsunari naku hibari (On small islands also men till the earth while larks sing above)
Stanton Macdonald-Wright
Kojima nimo hatake utsunari naku hibari (On small islands also men till the earth while larks sing above)
1966–1967
Woodcut in colors on Japanese paper, edition 44/50
2021.420.12
Hanko no shajitsu henun no shigure kana (Sun beams slant on the riverbank and cold rain falls from a floating cloud)
Stanton Macdonald-Wright
Hanko no shajitsu henun no shigure kana (Sun beams slant on the riverbank and cold rain falls from a floating cloud)
1966–1967
Woodcut in colors on Japanese paper, edition 44/50
2021.420.9
Mugi maki no moryo nagaki yuhi kana (Demons sowing barley in the long rays of sunset)
Stanton Macdonald-Wright
Mugi maki no moryo nagaki yuhi kana (Demons sowing barley in the long rays of sunset)
1966–1967
Woodcut in colors on Japanese paper, edition 44/50
2021.420.10
Yuku haru ya shunjun to shite osozakura (Departing spring hesitates in the late cherry blossoms)
Stanton Macdonald-Wright
Yuku haru ya shunjun to shite osozakura (Departing spring hesitates in the late cherry blossoms)
1966–1967
Woodcut in colors on Japanese paper, edition 44/50
2021.420.8