Not currently on display at the V&A

Mary Stuart

Costume Design
1958 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Costume design by Leslie Hurry for a female character in Schiller's Mary Stuart, Old Vic, 1958.

Leslie Hurry (1909-1978) trained at the Royal Academy and during the 1930s became known as a surrealist painter. A one-man show in London in 1942 was seen by the theatre director, Michael Benthall, who recommended Hurry to the dancer and choreographer, Robert Helpmann, then planning a ballet based on Shakespeare's Hamlet. The success of his designs set Hurry on a second career as one of the most distinguished theatre designers of his generation. He designed operas, ballets and plays, notably Swan Lake for the Sadler's Wells Ballet in 1943, a production which stayed in the repertoire for thirty years; Venice Preserv'd for Peter Brook (1953); the Ring Cycle at Covent Garden (1954), and Troilus and Cressida at Stratford for Peter Hall (1960), famous for being staged in a sand pit.


Object details

Category
Object type
TitleMary Stuart (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Ink, pencil and watercolour on paper
Brief description
Costume design by Leslie Hurry for a female character in Schiller's Mary Stuart, Old Vic, 1958
Physical description
Ink and watercolour costume design on paper with pencil inscription for a female character in the 1958 production of Mary Stuart at Old Vic Theatre. The design shows a woman in a long green dress with elaborately decorated sleeves and a large white collar.
Dimensions
  • Height: 38.8cm
  • Width: 15.6cm
Marks and inscriptions
  • Leslie Hurry signature 3 (on front in black ink)
  • ANNE IDDON [Ma]ry Stuart 17 Mary Stuart Sleeves Panel } 36 Upper sleeves ? Elizabeth V 6HT139 4y ts (on reverse side in black ink, pencil, and purple ink)
Credit line
Given by Mrs Caro Rathbone
Summary
Costume design by Leslie Hurry for a female character in Schiller's Mary Stuart, Old Vic, 1958.

Leslie Hurry (1909-1978) trained at the Royal Academy and during the 1930s became known as a surrealist painter. A one-man show in London in 1942 was seen by the theatre director, Michael Benthall, who recommended Hurry to the dancer and choreographer, Robert Helpmann, then planning a ballet based on Shakespeare's Hamlet. The success of his designs set Hurry on a second career as one of the most distinguished theatre designers of his generation. He designed operas, ballets and plays, notably Swan Lake for the Sadler's Wells Ballet in 1943, a production which stayed in the repertoire for thirty years; Venice Preserv'd for Peter Brook (1953); the Ring Cycle at Covent Garden (1954), and Troilus and Cressida at Stratford for Peter Hall (1960), famous for being staged in a sand pit.
Collection
Accession number
S.1559-2014

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdJuly 16, 2014
Record URL
Download as: JSON