Portrait Of Vladimir Nabokov
Russian-born American author Vladimir Nabokov (1899 - 1977) is mostly known for his significant contributions to modern literature, but the wordsmith was also a distinguished lepidopterist — taking regular trips around the world to capture and study butterflies. Nabokov even wrote his best-known work, Lolita, while collecting butterflies around the United States. "My loathings are simple: stupidity, oppression, crime, cruelty, soft music," he once wrote. "My pleasures are the most intense known to man: writing and butterfly hunting." In honor of what would have been his 110th birthday, this gallery documents the author's second passion, as seen through the eyes of the LIFE archives.
Photo: Carl Mydans./Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images - 1 of 19
Sep 01, 1958
