Not currently on display at the V&A

Costume design for Edgar in 'King Lear'

Costume Design
ca. 1955 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Costume design by Isamu Noguchi for Anthony Nicholls as Kent in William Shakespeare's play King Lear, Shakespeare Memorial Theatre Company, Palace Theatre, London, and European Tour, 1955.

Japanese-American artist Isamu Noguchi (1904-1988) was primarily a sculptor, although he was also known for designing the settings for the dance works of American modern-dance pioneer, Martha Graham. When he was commissioned to design King Lear for the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre Company in 1955, he had little experience of costume. However, director George Devine and his leading actor, John Gielgud, had been impressed by Noguchi's work for Graham. They believed that he could create appropriate designs for a stylised staging of Shakespeare's play, which, according to the programme note, 'would be free of historical or decorative associations so that the timeless, universal and mythical quality of the story may be clear.'

Instead of painting or sketching his costume designs, Noguchi produced little paper figures. Though subsequently mounted on paper with the makers' notes and instructions added, the figures were designed to stand upright, and the wire strut that supported each one is still attached.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleCostume design for Edgar in 'King Lear' (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Card collage with pencil, watercolour, foil and wire, mounted on paper
Brief description
Costume design by Isamu Noguchi for Denholm Elliott as Edgar in King Lear, 1955
Physical description
On the right, a cut out card figure attached to a metal wire strut, mounted on paper with descriptive notes. The figure wears an all over suit of beige with brown crisscrossing lines and one brown leg, with a large gold star on the chest. He carries a dagger and wears grey armour covering his head, shoulders and waist. To the left is a cut out shield in blue and grey with a gold boss, and pencil sketches of star-shaped decorations.
Dimensions
  • Height: 15.24cm
  • Width: 5.40cm
Taken from Victoria & Albert Museum Department of Prints and Drawings and Department of Paintings Accessions 1960 and 1961 London: HMSO 1964
Marks and inscriptions
  • 'Denholm Elliott' (The mount bears descriptive notes and is inscribed in pencil)
  • '9086-XXIX' (Numbered in ink)
  • Edgar shield (in pencil on mount)
  • 21 / 22 1/2 14 / 15 1/2 (in pencil to right of figure)
  • 28. Edgar 8. Albany basic & armour, cloak (N). (typed note stuck to mount)
Object history
The design was created by Isamu Noguchi for the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre Company's 1955 touring production of Shakespeare's King Lear. The play was directed by George Devine, with John Gielgud as Lear. The production opened in Brighton on 6 June, then visited festivals in Vienna, Zurich, The Hague, Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Berlin and Copenhagen, before playing at London's Palace Theatre, 21 July to 17 September. It then went to Hanover, Bremen, Hamburg, Oslo, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester, Liverpool, and finally came to the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre at Stratford-upon-Avon, 29 November to 17 December.

The costumes were made by Carl Bonn and Colin Mackenzie.
Subject depicted
Summary
Costume design by Isamu Noguchi for Anthony Nicholls as Kent in William Shakespeare's play King Lear, Shakespeare Memorial Theatre Company, Palace Theatre, London, and European Tour, 1955.

Japanese-American artist Isamu Noguchi (1904-1988) was primarily a sculptor, although he was also known for designing the settings for the dance works of American modern-dance pioneer, Martha Graham. When he was commissioned to design King Lear for the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre Company in 1955, he had little experience of costume. However, director George Devine and his leading actor, John Gielgud, had been impressed by Noguchi's work for Graham. They believed that he could create appropriate designs for a stylised staging of Shakespeare's play, which, according to the programme note, 'would be free of historical or decorative associations so that the timeless, universal and mythical quality of the story may be clear.'

Instead of painting or sketching his costume designs, Noguchi produced little paper figures. Though subsequently mounted on paper with the makers' notes and instructions added, the figures were designed to stand upright, and the wire strut that supported each one is still attached.
Bibliographic reference
Victoria and Albert Museum Department of Prints and Drawings and Department of Paintings Accessions 1960 and 1961 London: HMSO, 1964
Collection
Accession number
E.5323-1960

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Record createdJune 30, 2009
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