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Eddison Collection
Unknown - Enlarge image
Eddison Collection
- Object:
Print
- Place of origin:
London, England (possibly, printed)
- Date:
1769 (printed)
- Artist/Maker:
Unknown (production)
- Materials and Techniques:
Printed paper
- Credit Line:
Accepted by HM Government in lieu of Inheritance Tax and allocated to the Victoria and Albert Museum, 1996
- Museum number:
S.431-1997
- Gallery location:
In Storage
Born in Dublin, the son of a silversmith, Spranger Barry (1717-1777) was apprenticed in the same trade before becoming an actor in his mid-20s. He made his stage debut in Dublin as Othello, and worked at the Crow Street theatre in Dublin with the young David Garrick.
Barry and Garrick came to London where they worked at both Covent Garden and Drury Lane Theatres, becoming the most respected actors of their day, but their relationship veered from amicable collaboration to open hostility, especially when Garrick was the manager of Drury Lane and was employing the increasingly unreliable Barry. Othello was one of Spranger Barry's most popular parts, and one of the few in which Garrick did not succeed, nor attempt again after Barry's success in the role. This print shows Barry in the costume and make-up he wore for the part.
