Conservationist Greg Pickup chooses a portrait of an early gay rights activist that is simultaneously shabby yet charismatic.
Greg Pickup on Edward Carpenter by Roger Fry
‘The radical early gay-rights activist Edward Carpenter is a personal hero of mine. His influence in his lifetime was enormous, but he is, unfairly, almost unknown today. Fry’s portrait captures him better than any.
‘The “sandal-wearing socialist” was much-mocked in his lifetime, but the…