Oliver Messel Art
British, 1904-1978
Born in London, his mother being the daughter of the Punch cartoonist Edward Linley Sambourne and his father a soldier and stockbroker. After Eton he studied art at the Slade under Henry Tonks; Rex Whistler was a fellow student. Although his studies concentrated on life drawings he also made papier mache and wax masks for student events and an exhibition of these masks at the Claridge Galleries in 1925 let to his first theatre design commission for the Diaghilev ballet production of Zeephyre et Flore. By the early 1930s had established himself as one of Britain’s principal designers for the stage. He went on to design for many theatrical, operatic, ballet and film productions becoming one of the most highly paid and sought after theatre designers in the world.
His books included Stage Designs and Costumes, 1933; Designs for A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 1957 and Delightful Food, 1958. He held one-man exhibitions at the Leicester Galleries and Redfern Gallery, designed interiors and gardens of the Dorchester Hotel, Flaxley Abbey, Gloucestershire and elsewhere as well as several houses and grounds in Barbados and Mustique. The Victoria & Albert Museum hold the majority of his design archives.(Biography provided by Sarah Colegrave Fine Art)
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Artist: Oliver Messel
Oliver Messel - Costume Design for Vivian Leigh in Caesar and Cleopatra - 1945
By Oliver Messel
Located in London, GB
OLIVER MESSEL
(1904-1978)
Blue Costume Design for Vivian Leigh in Caesar and Cleopatra - 1945
Signed l.r.: Oliver Messel
Watercolour and chalks heightened with white and gold pain...
Category
Mid-20th Century Realist Oliver Messel Art
Materials
Watercolor
"Silver Jubilee Scarf Designed By Oliver Messel" 1977
By Oliver Messel
Located in Bristol, CT
Berne Silks. 1977. Originally issued in 1953 by Cresta Silks. Printed silk scarf with applied silver leaf. With original printed plastic packaging. English. 900 x 900mm. 0.2kg. . Fine.
A printed silk scarf designed by the theatre and interior designer Oliver Messel. The original design, created for Cresta Silks to commemorate the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, was embellished with gold. This current design, reissued by Berne Silks to mark the Queen's Silver Jubilee in 1977, was now heightened with applied sliver. The silver-grey ground is printed with a design of a horse and carriage (the Gold State Coach) surrounded by a frame of floral and natural elements. The border contains the Queen's cypher, the emblems of the four nations and a spray of oak, picked out in pinks and greens. It is signed within the design by Messel. The design carries Messel's sense of theatricality with rococo, romantic elements. The young queen and her horse and carriage are held within a fairytale setting. A fine example, in collectable...
Category
1970s Oliver Messel Art
Materials
Silk
Rashomon - A 1950 costume design for the New York Theatre by Oliver Messel
By Oliver Messel
Located in London, GB
OLIVER MESSEL
(1904-1978)
The Medium – Costume Design for Peter Glenville’s Rashomon, Performed at the Music Box, New York, 1959
Signed l.r.: Oliver Messel and inscribed u.r.: The...
Category
Mid-20th Century Realist Oliver Messel Art
Materials
Watercolor
Oliver Messel - Costume Design for Caesar and Cleopatra, 1945
By Oliver Messel
Located in London, GB
OLIVER MESSEL
(1904-1978)
Egyptian Costume Design for Caesar and Cleopatra - 1945
Signed l.r.: Oliver Messel
Watercolour and chalks heightened ...
Category
Mid-20th Century Realist Oliver Messel Art
Materials
Watercolor
Oliver Messel - Costume Design for Vivien Leigh in Caesar and Cleopatra
By Oliver Messel
Located in London, GB
OLIVER MESSEL
(1904-1978)
Blue Costume Design for Caesar and Cleopatra - 1945
Signed l.r.: Oliver Messel
Watercolour and chalks heightened with...
Category
Mid-20th Century Oliver Messel Art
Materials
Watercolor
The Dancer - 20th Century British painting by Oliver Messel
By Oliver Messel
Located in London, GB
OLIVER MESSEL
(1904-1978)
Dancer
Signed l.r.: Oliver Messel
Oil and watercolour on paper
Framed
60 by 50 in., 23 ½ by 19 ¾ cm.
(Frame size 76.5 by 66.5 in., 30 by 26 ¼ cm.)
Bor...
Category
Mid-20th Century Realist Oliver Messel Art
Materials
Watercolor, Oil
Opera Costume Design for The Barber of Seville by Oliver Messel
By Oliver Messel
Located in London, GB
OLIVER MESSEL
(1904-1978)
Costume Design for Rosina in the Barber of Seville
Signed and indistinctly inscribed
Watercolour and bodycolour, framed
...
Category
1950s Realist Oliver Messel Art
Materials
Watercolor
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Oliver Messel art for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic Oliver Messel art available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Oliver Messel in paint, watercolor, fabric and more. Not every interior allows for large Oliver Messel art, so small editions measuring 10 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of John Sergeant, Margaret Sweet Johnson, and Hubert Hennes. Oliver Messel art prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $750 and tops out at $3,185, while the average work can sell for $1,910.
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