Stephen Prince, a.k.a. Stefan Prince, is a painter of abstract art, much of which takes as its subject matter the erotic novel Histoire d’O (The Story of O), published in 1954 under the pseudonym Pauline Réage.

Those of you who are unfamiliar with The Story of O, get it. Read it. And you will love it. It is by far the best of recent erotica and, best of all, it was written by a woman.

Here is Lola’s interview with the artist.

Lola – First, is your real name Stephen or did you adopt that in honor of Sir Stephen in the book, the Story of O?

Ha! Yes, I was christened Stephen, though my mother once told me she had hesitated over ‘Stefan.’ She loved the character ‘Stefan Radetzky,’ played by Anton Walbrook in the 1941 film Dangerous Moonlight (U.S. title: Suicide Squadron). I adopted ‘Stefan’ to differentiate my erotic paintings from my other work. Oddly the English dubbed version of the 1975 film, Story of O, changes ‘Sir Stephen’ to ‘Sir Stefan.’

Lola – When did you first read Story of O and what captivated you about it?

I first read Story of O when a paperback edition was lent to me in the summer of 1975. I was in my twenties. It was bliss! It was like coming home. The novel seemed to encapsulate all my fantasies in one little book. I loved the style of the writing and the elements of the Gothic and surrealism. I immediately ordered a hard-back edition.

Lola – Tell us about your art. How did you get into painting and how did your style develop?

I have been painting since the age of twelve. There are no other painters in the family. Even before my four years at art school, I was drawn to the abstract and it was abstraction I pursued for a long time. But I found I could wear two ‘hats.’ In private, I attempted some ‘figurative’ reactions to having read Story of O. This was in 1979, and again a few years later. In 1996, after a break from painting, I set about producing twelve large canvasses as a series, celebrating Story of O. Those paintings set the style and tone for years to come. Some of them were featured in Skin Two magazine, several were exhibited in London, and one features at the end of the movie Preaching to the Perverted (1997)

Lola – In my humble opinion, Pauline Réage is perhaps the best female erotic author of modern times. I hate to compare, but she is far superior to Anaïs Nin. What are the essential things to you about Pauline Réage?

She was without doubt a strong and very intelligent woman, an intellectual at the heart of literary Paris, bi-lingual, incredibly well-read, and bi-sexual. She brought many aspects of her character and her upbringing, as well as intuition, to the challenge of writing Story of O, her one and only novel.

Lola – Who are some other authors that you admire and read repeatedly?

I have shelves of books I should be returning to, Anaïs Nin, Vanessa Duriés, Florence Dugas, Alina Reyes, André Pieyre de Mandiargues (Portrait of An Englishman in his Chateau), etc. One writer I do return to is Alain Robbe-Grillet who penned the screenplay for that fascinating film Last Year at Marienbad and whose partner wrote The Image under the name of Jean de Berg, (filmed as The Punishment of Anne) – a slim novel worth returning to, and one boasting a preface by PR (Pauline Réage), though this might have been a ploy on the part of the writer and publisher!

Lola – Who are other visual artists whom you admire and why?

I could list so many. Painters with impact always. I would include Francis Bacon, Picasso, Max Beckmann, Hans Bellmer for his dolls and intricate engravings, Balthus, Paul Delvaux, the Surrealists for their dreaming, Leonor Fini likewise, Kees Van Dongen, Rudolf Schlichter, and not forgetting Aubrey Beardsley, for his mastery of black and white illustration.

Lola – Tell us about the development of your blog – storyofoblog – when did you start, how has it changed over the years, and what connections have you made through it?

My O-Blog developed out of my website (began sometime around early 2003). By the close of 2016 I was beginning to think I could use all the information gathered thus far for my website and began the blog, attached to the website, at the end of January 2017. It gave me space to explore the subject in more pictures and words, and indulge myself in a little extra research!

After a few years, I took down my website but, realizing it was the only full website on the web celebrating Story of O, I completely revised it and launched it afresh. The blog has remained unaltered however, and I have retained the same format, with ‘Artists of O,’ ‘Scrapbook,’ and ‘O-Style’ as regular features. As regards connections, I have reached out with success to a number of individual artists, photographers and enthusiasts, and have been approached by one or two in turn, including Canadian fetjeweller ‘Franklin,’ and your good self.

Lola – Who are some of your muses (women or men you look to for inspiration) when you paint now?

Muses include my dear partner, several professional models sporting ‘bobs’ (a weakness of mine!) including Miriam Veil and Tessa Black , and several fellow artists who know how to live dangerously with their art and push the limits, including the artist known as Raja Foo.

Lola – If you could ask Pauline Réage anything, what would it be and why?

How close does Histoire d’O relate to things you experienced, saw or heard about? And where did you get such ideas as genital piercing? (see my O-Blog for October) Also, is the sequel Return to the Chateau by your own hand or not???

Lola – If I were O’s daughter, what direction do you think the story would take for a new sequel?

A bigger and better Roissy, and an emphasis on family, and a fully fleshed-out biological father figure to match a delightfully submissive (or dominant?) ‘Daughter of O’. Why not switch all the roles?!

Thank you for the opportunity to talk about Story of O.

SP x