Edith Evans as Mistress Page
Figurine
1924 (made)
1924 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This is one of several wax figurines, executed by Agatha Walker in the 1920s, representing actors and actresses in successful London stage productions. There had been a 19th-century craze for Staffordshire earthenware figurines of performers and Agatha Walker's work echoed this tradition. Her figurines, produced as limited editions, were modelled from life in plaster and coated with a fine layer of wax which was then coloured. In 1931 her figurines were exhibited at London's Fine Arts Society.
The figurine depicts Edith Evans (1886-1961) as Mistress Page in Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor, Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith, 22 December 1923. Dorothy Green played Mistress Ford, and Agatha Walker produced figurines of both.
Edith Evans made her first professional stage appearance in 1912 and was already acknowledged as a star by 1923. The Merry Wives of Windsor was another successful production for Sir Nigel Playfair, the owner of the Lyric Theatre who had purchased its lease when it was a derelict building in 1918 and transformed it into a highly successful venue, putting Hammersmith firmly on the theatrical map.
The figurine depicts Edith Evans (1886-1961) as Mistress Page in Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor, Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith, 22 December 1923. Dorothy Green played Mistress Ford, and Agatha Walker produced figurines of both.
Edith Evans made her first professional stage appearance in 1912 and was already acknowledged as a star by 1923. The Merry Wives of Windsor was another successful production for Sir Nigel Playfair, the owner of the Lyric Theatre who had purchased its lease when it was a derelict building in 1918 and transformed it into a highly successful venue, putting Hammersmith firmly on the theatrical map.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Edith Evans as Mistress Page (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Moulded plaster coated in wax and coloured |
| Brief description | Figurine by Agatha Walker of Edith Evans (1888-1961) as Mistress Page in The Merry Wives of Windsor, Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith, 1923. Moulded plaster covered in wax, 1924 |
| Physical description | Coloured wax-covered figurine of Edith Evans as Mistress Page in The Merry Wives of Windsor standing on an integral brown octagonal base, inscribed with details. She is smiling and leaning forwards, with her left hand on her hip, looking to the left. She wears a cream-coloured belted medieval robe with turquoise diagonal stripes, knotted at the front to show an orange underskirt, turquoise sleeves with an integral short turquoise and cream striped cape lined in orange, and a large cream horned headdress and wimple. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Credit line | Accepted by HM Government in lieu of Inheritance Tax and allocated to the Victoria and Albert Museum, 1996 |
| Literary reference | Merry Wives of Windsor, The |
| Summary | This is one of several wax figurines, executed by Agatha Walker in the 1920s, representing actors and actresses in successful London stage productions. There had been a 19th-century craze for Staffordshire earthenware figurines of performers and Agatha Walker's work echoed this tradition. Her figurines, produced as limited editions, were modelled from life in plaster and coated with a fine layer of wax which was then coloured. In 1931 her figurines were exhibited at London's Fine Arts Society. The figurine depicts Edith Evans (1886-1961) as Mistress Page in Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor, Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith, 22 December 1923. Dorothy Green played Mistress Ford, and Agatha Walker produced figurines of both. Edith Evans made her first professional stage appearance in 1912 and was already acknowledged as a star by 1923. The Merry Wives of Windsor was another successful production for Sir Nigel Playfair, the owner of the Lyric Theatre who had purchased its lease when it was a derelict building in 1918 and transformed it into a highly successful venue, putting Hammersmith firmly on the theatrical map. |
| Bibliographic reference | 'The Portrait Statuettes of Agatha Walker' The Studio, Vol.101 (1931), which illustrates the statuette of Edith Evans as Mistress Page. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.1043-1996 |
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| Record created | December 2, 2005 |
| Record URL |
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