In 1882, the Irish poet and dandy, not yet a playwright but making himself known for his dress style and quips, embarked on an expenses-paid tour of America. William S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan had satirized Wilde and the Aesthetic Movement in their operetta Patience, but when it was to transfer to New York on Broadway, producer Richard D’Oyly Carte feared that New Yorkers would not get the jokes. Wilde was enticed to travel to America and give talks on art and his decorative philosophy, dressed as their Bunthorne character.

When he arrived, however, Wilde quickly turned the tour to his advantage, selling himself and not Gilbert and Sullivan. Wilde’s tour earned him fame, an extraordinary amount of press coverage, and a good deal of money. While in New York, he stayed for a few days at the Grand Hotel, and had a session with the photographer Napoleon Sarony at his studio on the west side of Union Square. The resulting, widely seen photographs - such as the present one -  greatly enhanced his image as an aesthete and artist.

On his tour, Wilde spoke in Hamilton, Ontario on May 31st and in Boston on June 2nd.  From the dating given on the present example, it seems likely that he traveled back to the Grand Hotel in New York City (where he had stayed previously) for the night between these two engagements.