- Alexandra Kitchin
Alexandra 'Xie' Rhoda Kitchin (
September 29 ,1864 -April 6 ,1925 ) was the favourite photographic subject of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (Lewis Carroll ), who photographed her around fifty times, from age four until just before her sixteenth birthday. She was also a notable 'child-friend' of Dodgson. The works they made together, often in tableau form, are commonly known to collectors, curators, and the contemporary artists who are inspired by them as the 'Xie' (pronounced 'Ecksy' - a diminutive form of Alexandra) pictures.She was the daughter of Rev.
George William Kitchin (1827-1912), who was Dodgson's colleague atChrist Church, Oxford , and later became Dean of Winchester and Dean of Durham. Xie had three younger brothers: George Herbert, Hugh Bridges, and Brook Taylor, and a younger sister, Dorothy Maud Mary. All were featured in Dodgson's photographs.She married Arthur Cardew on 17 April 1890. They had six children: Penelope (b. 1891), Christopher (b. 1894), Richard (1898-1918), Michael (1901-1983), Philip (b. 1903) and Arthur (b. 1906). The family resided at 4 North View,
Wimbledon Common ,London , until Xie's death. She is buried atPutney Vale Cemetery .Unlike
Alice Liddell and other Dodgson 'child-friends', Xie never published reminiscences of him.Related Work
* Represented in the work of photographer
Polixeni Papapetrou , who uses modern children to re-enact Dodgson's portraits.
* Subject of the play "Xie" byJustin Sherin .External links
* [http://www.sothebys.com/app/live/lot/LotDetail.jsp?lot_id=159413747 Sotheby's (London) Auction] - Lewis Carroll photo of Xie Kitchin, 1870, up for auction November 12, 2007.
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