Academy Award
Award
1952
1952
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The British film and theatre actress Vivien Leigh (1913-1967) is one of the most important film and stage performers of the mid-20th century. She first performed the role of Blanche DuBois on the British stage in a production of Tennessee Williams’ play A Streetcar Named Desire in 1949.
In 1950, she was offered the role in the film, a rare opportunity for an actor to transfer their stage performance onto screen. In 1952, Leigh was awarded her second Oscar for her performance as Blanche, with Streetcar winning a total of four awards that year. Leigh had won her first Oscar for Gone with the Wind (1939), the first British woman to receive the award.
Her original Oscar was stolen in a burglary at Notley Abbey in July 1953 but the Academy of Motion Pictyure Arts and Sciences gave Leigh a replacement as soon as possible. The original appears never to have resurfaced.
In 1950, she was offered the role in the film, a rare opportunity for an actor to transfer their stage performance onto screen. In 1952, Leigh was awarded her second Oscar for her performance as Blanche, with Streetcar winning a total of four awards that year. Leigh had won her first Oscar for Gone with the Wind (1939), the first British woman to receive the award.
Her original Oscar was stolen in a burglary at Notley Abbey in July 1953 but the Academy of Motion Pictyure Arts and Sciences gave Leigh a replacement as soon as possible. The original appears never to have resurfaced.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Academy Award (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Gold plated britannium |
| Brief description | Vivien Leigh's Best Actress Oscar for the film A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) |
| Physical description | Gold plated figure of a man standing on five reels of film on a circular base |
| Dimensions |
|
| Marks and inscriptions | Academy First Award
To
Vivien Leigh
For her performance in
"A Streetcar Named Desire" |
| Credit line | Given by the Farrington Family, in memory of Suzanne Farrington |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | The British film and theatre actress Vivien Leigh (1913-1967) is one of the most important film and stage performers of the mid-20th century. She first performed the role of Blanche DuBois on the British stage in a production of Tennessee Williams’ play A Streetcar Named Desire in 1949. In 1950, she was offered the role in the film, a rare opportunity for an actor to transfer their stage performance onto screen. In 1952, Leigh was awarded her second Oscar for her performance as Blanche, with Streetcar winning a total of four awards that year. Leigh had won her first Oscar for Gone with the Wind (1939), the first British woman to receive the award. Her original Oscar was stolen in a burglary at Notley Abbey in July 1953 but the Academy of Motion Pictyure Arts and Sciences gave Leigh a replacement as soon as possible. The original appears never to have resurfaced. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.1019-2017 |
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| Record created | December 5, 2017 |
| Record URL |
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