Not on display

Tommy Steele in The Servant of Two Masters

Caricature
30 November 1968 (dated)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This caricature shows Tommy Steele (b.1936) as Truffaldino in The Servant of Two Masters by Carlo Goldoni, in a version by David Turner, at the Oxford New Theatre in November 1968. It was drawn by Gilbert Sommerlad (1904-1976), a rehearsal pianist and orchestral violinist at the Brighton Theatre Royal from 1932 until 1936, and at the Oxford New Theatre from 1936 for over forty years. Sommerlad sketched the stars on stage when he wasn’t needed in the orchestra pit, compiling the sketches in a series of albums.

Tommy Steele became one of Britain’s first great rock 'n' roll idols at the age of 19 with hits including ‘Singing the Blues’ (1956) and ‘Little White Bull ‘(1959), and later made his name as an actor, especially in musicals and pantomime.

Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleTommy Steele in <i>The Servant of Two Masters</i> (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Pencil, pen and ink, watercolour and wash on paper
Brief description
Pencil, pen and ink, watercolour and wash caricature by Gilbert Sommerlad (1904-1976) of Tommy Steele in The Servant of Two Masters at the Oxford New Theatre. Dated 30 November 1968.
Physical description
Pencil, pen and ink, watercolour and wash caricature of Tommy Steele in The Servant of Two Masters at the Oxford New Theatre. Dated 30 November 1968. From a hard-backed sketch book containing caricatures of theatrical performers and entertainers drawn by Gilbert Sommerlad.
Dimensions
  • Height: 24.5cm (approximately)
  • Width: 18cm (approximately)
Credit line
Given by Michael Sommerlad
Object history
This caricature comes from an album of caricatures of theatrical performers and entertainers drawn (with one exception) by Gilbert J.Sommerlad (1904-1976) between December 1965 and September 1971 at the Oxford New Theatre. Gilbert Sommerlad moved from Brighton to the recently built New Theatre, Oxford, to join his brother Roy (violin and clarinet) as resident pianist in 1936. He continued with his caricatures until his retirement.
Subject depicted
Summary
This caricature shows Tommy Steele (b.1936) as Truffaldino in The Servant of Two Masters by Carlo Goldoni, in a version by David Turner, at the Oxford New Theatre in November 1968. It was drawn by Gilbert Sommerlad (1904-1976), a rehearsal pianist and orchestral violinist at the Brighton Theatre Royal from 1932 until 1936, and at the Oxford New Theatre from 1936 for over forty years. Sommerlad sketched the stars on stage when he wasn’t needed in the orchestra pit, compiling the sketches in a series of albums.

Tommy Steele became one of Britain’s first great rock 'n' roll idols at the age of 19 with hits including ‘Singing the Blues’ (1956) and ‘Little White Bull ‘(1959), and later made his name as an actor, especially in musicals and pantomime.
Collection
Accession number
S.134:29-2002

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 createdNovember 24, 2003
Record URL
Download as: JSON