Photograph
1954 (Photographed)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
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.
The Oliver Messel suite at the Dorchester Hotel opened in 1953. The exquisite interior, along with the wonderful views across London from the 7th floor patio, quickly became the favourite place to stay for guests including Marlene Dietrich, Noel Coward, Bob Hope, Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor.
The photograph depicts a wedding reception which Oliver Messel has designed and dressed with roses and garlands festooned around tables, windows and doors.
The photographers, Millar and Harris, were a commercial photographic company based in Clapham, South London. Their extensive client base included not only glamorous magazines but also architects, interior designers, construction companies and industrial engineers, government agencies, department stores, hotels and restaurants, as well as private individuals.
The Oliver Messel suite at the Dorchester Hotel opened in 1953. The exquisite interior, along with the wonderful views across London from the 7th floor patio, quickly became the favourite place to stay for guests including Marlene Dietrich, Noel Coward, Bob Hope, Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor.
The photograph depicts a wedding reception which Oliver Messel has designed and dressed with roses and garlands festooned around tables, windows and doors.
The photographers, Millar and Harris, were a commercial photographic company based in Clapham, South London. Their extensive client base included not only glamorous magazines but also architects, interior designers, construction companies and industrial engineers, government agencies, department stores, hotels and restaurants, as well as private individuals.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Photographic print |
| Brief description | Black and white photograph of the patio outside the Penthouse dining-room at the Dorchester Hotel, London, 1954. The patio has been decorated for a wedding reception by the designer Oliver Messel. |
| Physical description | Black and white photograph of a view of the patio outside the Penthouse dining-room at the Dorchester Hotel, London. The photograph shows windows and tables dressed ready for a wedding reception. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | Photograph by Millar and Harris |
| Credit line | Acquired with the support of the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Art Fund and the Friends of the V&A |
| Object history | Lord Snowdon, Oliver Messel's nephew, inherited Messel's theatre designs and other designs and artefacts. The designs were briefly stored in a disused chapel in Kensington Palace before being housed at the V&A from 1981 on indefinite loan. The V&A Theatre Museum purchased the Oliver Messel collection from Lord Snowdon in 2005. |
| Summary | 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. The Oliver Messel suite at the Dorchester Hotel opened in 1953. The exquisite interior, along with the wonderful views across London from the 7th floor patio, quickly became the favourite place to stay for guests including Marlene Dietrich, Noel Coward, Bob Hope, Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. The photograph depicts a wedding reception which Oliver Messel has designed and dressed with roses and garlands festooned around tables, windows and doors. The photographers, Millar and Harris, were a commercial photographic company based in Clapham, South London. Their extensive client base included not only glamorous magazines but also architects, interior designers, construction companies and industrial engineers, government agencies, department stores, hotels and restaurants, as well as private individuals. |
| Bibliographic reference | Pinkham, Roger (ed.) Oliver Messel: an exhibition held at the Theatre Museum, Victoria and Albert Museum, 22 June - 30 September 1983.
London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1983. 200p., ill
(ISBN 0905209508) |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.6494-2009 |
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| Record created | March 27, 2010 |
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