Oliver Messel 1904-1978 British School 20th.Century. Charcoal and wash drawing. Stage set design. Titled 'Throne Room.' For 'Tough at The Top.' 1949. Provenance: Redfern Gallery, 20 Cork St., London, Purchased Sydney Bernstein Esq, November 1951, Exhibited at The Oliver Messel Exhibition, V&A Museum, 1983. some cockling to sheet and water stain to the original mount. 36.5 by 23cms. Image. 50 by 35.5 cms. Framed overall.
Oliver Messel was the foremost British stage and costume designer of the 1930s, 40's and 50's. His often unconventional and opulent designs for the, ballet, theatre and opera, made him the most sought after and highly paid theatrical designer of his generation. Tough at the Top. Was a 1949 musical production, staged at the Adelphi Theatre in London, the play was written by A.P. Herbert with music by Vivian Ellis and directed by Wendy Toye.
GB