LGBT+ Artists

Christopher Marlowe

Christopher Marlowe (d. 1593) is widely regarded as one of England's greatest dramatists. Much like Owen, he was killed in his twenties.

His work Edward II is an extremely bold play that explores the starcrossed love story of Edward and Piers Gaviston.

His masterpiece Dr. Faustus is referenced in a speech by Owen in the film, quoting Mephistopheles.

"This is Hell, nor am I out of it."

- Dr Faustus 

Rosa Bonheur

Rosa Bonheur was a French artist in the 19th Century, renowned for her incredible portraits of animals.

Bonheur would dress in men's clothing to access abattoirs in order to get close to the animals she wished to depict.

Her work is featured during Wilfred's run down the spiral staircase, and the images influenced the shots on Calton Hill later in the film.

- The Merchant of the Forest
- Cattle at Rest on a Hillside in the Alps

​Edward Carpenter​

Edward Carpenter was a gay rights activist, essayist and socialist poet. His book Toward Democracy is featured during Sassoon and Owen's first discussion regarding poetry.

- Toward Democracy

Charlotte Cushman and Emma Stebbins

Charlotte Cushman was a famous American actor. Her portrait features in the spiral staircase. Her career was highly influential on sculptors and artists alike, including Edmonia Lewis and her lover Emma Stebbins.

Stebbins was the first woman to have her art publically commissioned in New York. The sculpture is thought to be inspired by Charlotte Cushman, and can be found in the Bethesda Fountain in Central Park.

- The Angel of the Waters

Henry James

Henry James's portrait can be found on the wall during Owen's run down the spiral staircase.

James is highly regarded as one of the great novelists in the English language. His love letters were very difficult to decode because of the nature of the law in the 19th Century and beyond in the US. Much like Owen, his letters were hidden from the public by his relatives.

- Henry James' Love Letters

Emily Dickinson

Emily Dickinson was one of the most original poets of the 19th Century. 

It is thought Dickinson had a lifelong love affair with her childhood friend Susan Gilbert, who later became her sister-in-law after she married Emily’s brother Austin Dickinson. 

Her poem 'Good morning—Midnight!' is quoted in the film by Nancy Nicholson as she joins her husband Robert Graves during their wedding party.

- Good Morning - Midnight

Oscar Wilde

Oscar Wilde was an Irish poet and playwright whose life is well documented for the tragedy of his death. He and Robbie Ross were once lovers and very good friends.

In the film, Robbie Ross quotes a line from A Picture of Dorian Gray while advising Sassoon on his admiration for Owen and jealousy for Scott Moncrieff.

​“The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it."

The rest of the passage goes:

“The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it. Resist it, and your soul grows sick with longing for the things it has forbidden to itself, with desire for what its monstrous laws have made monstrous and unlawful.”

- The Picture of Dorian Gray 

Michelangelo

In the original script, Owen holds one of his battalion dead in his arms. This is a direct reference to Michelangelo's famous sculpture, Pietà (The Pity).

​It is found in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

- Pieta