Byron: A Life in Motion to Open at the New York Public Library

“Greek postage stamps, commemorating the centenary of Byron’s death, and depicting his 1824 reception in Greece (London: Bradbury Wilkinson & Co. Ltd., [1924]).” Carl H. Pforzheimer Collection of Shelley and His Circle, New York Public Library.

New exhibition showcases the complexity of cultural and literary icon Byron

On September 7, 2024, Byron: A Life in Motion will open its doors to the public. The exhibition explores the extraordinary life of Byron, from his youth until death in 1824 at the age of 36, with a focus on the complexity of his character.

Byron was born into trouble as George Gordon Byron in 1788 in London. After an adventurous and self-indulgent youth, Byron found himself suddenly famous with the publication of his first narrative poem, “Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage.” Byron: A Life in Motion presents key moments of his life, from his boyhood in Scotland to his death in Greece. His other stops along the way feature in the exhibition, from Switzerland—a sojourn that bears the cultural imprint of having spurred Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein—Venice, Ravenna, Pisa, Genoa, and beyond. 

Byron is one of the most widely known and acclaimed literary figures in history, who early in life shot to a level of celebrity unprecedented in the early 19th century. As a master ironist, his poetry, letters, journals, and singular voice continue to bring readers along with him, two hundred years after his death.

Highlights from the exhibition include:

• Cantos of Don Juan, Byron’s masterpiece, along with other literary manuscripts;
• Letters from his mother and friends, including a letter from Catherine Byron discussing her son’s imperfect foot, and correspondence with Percy and Mary Shelley;
• Locks of hair from his daughter Allegra;
• A mourning ring, produced for public sale to cash in on Byron’s celebrity;
• Wine bills from Francis Merryweather, an Englishman in Venice;
• A picture of and letters to and from Teresa Gamba Guiccioli, an Italian noblewoman with whom Byron fell mutually in love; and
• An extra-illustrated biography featuring a large mezzotint of Byron on his deathbed.

“Byron is a fascinatingly mixed character,” said Elizabeth Denlinger, Curator of the Carl H. Pforzheimer Collection of Shelley and His Circle at the New York Public Library. “Despite his well-earned reputation as a party boy and misogynist, he was also a committed writer for whom writing wasn’t the most important thing in life; his ultimate commitment, expressed in joining the Greek war for independence, was to the principles of self-determination and liberty.”

The seeming contradictions of Byron and his storied life are on full display in Byron: A Life in Motion: he was a disabled person who hid his disability; a bisexual man who hid his attraction to men; a rich titled Englishman whose politics leaned towards democracy and liberty, but who insisted on his title; and a prolific poet who balked at custom and propriety.

Additional highlights include:

• Byron’s copy of Richard Cumberland’s Wheel of Fortune, in which Byron played the lead in a 1806 amateur production;
• Julia Conyers album with watercolors by Lady Caroline Lamb;
• A sketchbook containing views of Gibbon’s house (1818);
• A draft of Marino Faliero, Doge of Venice (1820), a verse drama written when Byron and others were advocating for Italian independence;
• An engraving and a portrait of Bryon by Thomas Hargreaves (1825) and George Henry Harlow (1815), respectively; and
• A collection of notes from mistresses from Byron’s time in Venice.

Byron: A Life in Motion is on view in the Library’s third floor Print Gallery from September 7, 2024–January 12, 2025. It features 57 works that are drawn predominantly from the Carl H. Pforzheimer Collection of Shelley and His Circle.

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