Letter with Sketch of Artist Painting Stage Scenery

Thomas Grieve|William Grieve|Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin

March 1831 · Pen and black ink over graphite · Drawings and Prints

This letter from Pugin relates to stage sets being made for a ballet inspired by Sir Walter Scott's "Kenilworth," produced at the King's Theatre, London in March 1831. A life-long enthusiast for the theater, the aspiring architect was already an experienced stage carpenter after a season at Covent Garden. Here, he promises the leading scene painters William and Thomas Grieve that he will arrive on Monday at ten to assist with the sets, and insists that it is the pleasure of their company, rather than the thought of financial gain, that compells him. The accompanying sketch depicts a small figure working on a gothic back cloth suspended over the stage from a pulley system. Pugin's diary records that he went on to paint interiors of Cumnor Place and Greenwich Palace for this production, and also supplied costume details.

Artist

Thomas Grieve|William Grieve|Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin

Date

March 1831

Medium

Pen and black ink over graphite

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Bequest of the Estate of Randolph Gunter, 1962