Oliver Messel (1904-1978) was Britain's leading theatre designer of the 1930s, '40s and '50s. He created settings and costumes for all forms of entertainment - ballet, drama, film, musical, opera and revue - as well as working in interior decoration and textile design. His lavish, painterly and romantic concepts were perfectly in tune with the times and earned him an international reputation. By 1960, however, that style was becoming unfashionable, and Messel gradually abandoned theatre and built a new career designing luxury homes in the Caribbean.

Clarence Sinclair Bull (1896–1979) was the head of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's photographic stills department for nearly 40 years. Bull began his career as an assistant camera man at Metro Pictures and along with photographer George Hurrell, virtually invented celebrity portraiture as we know it today. During Bull's 40 year career, he photographed legendary film stars including Greta Garbo, Joan Crawford, Norma Shearer, Katharine Hepburn, Hedy Lamarr, Gary Cooper, Elizabeth Taylor and Grace Kelly.

Bull photographed Oliver Messel in 1936 at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios whilst Messel was working on the film Romeo and Juliet, which starred Norma Shearer and Leslie Howard. Messel was commissioned to design the film after director George Cukor witnessed Messel’s work in The Miracle in New York. Cukor felt Messel’s knowledge of period detail would enhance this high profile production for the studio.

The photograph is typical of Bull’s artistic approach to portraiture, capturing Messel at his drawing board, with the light capturing Messel’s matinee idol looks.