Oliver Messel
Encyclopedia
Oliver Hilary Sambourne Messel (13 January 1904 – 13 July 1978) was an English
artist and one of the foremost stage designers of the 20th century.
Messel was born in London
, the second son of Lieutenant-Colonel Leonard Messel and Maud, the only daughter of Linley Sambourne
, the eminent illustrator and contributor to Punch magazine. He was educated at Hawtreys
, a boarding preparatory school
in Kent
, Eton
— where his classmates included Harold Acton
, and Brian Howard — and at the Slade School of Fine Art
, University College
.
After completing his studies, he became a portrait painter and commissions for theatre work soon followed, beginning with his designing the masks for a London production of Serge Diaghilev's ballet Zephyr et Flore (1925). Subsequently, he created masks, costumes, and sets — many of which have been preserved by the Theatre Museum
, London — for various works staged by C. B. Cochran's revues through the late 1920s and early 1930s. His work as a set designer was also featured in the US in such Broadway shows as The Country Wife
(1936); The Lady's Not For Burning
(1950); Romeo and Juliet
(1951); House of Flowers
(1954), for which he won the Tony Award; and Rashomon
(1959), which was nominated for a Tony Award for his costume as well as his set design. He also designed the costumes for Romeo and Juliet
; Rashomon
; and Gigi
(1973), the latter two receiving Tony Award nominations.
For film his costume designs include The Private Life of Don Juan
(1934); Romeo and Juliet
(1936); The Thief of Bagdad
(1940); and Caesar and Cleopatra (1945). For Romeo and Juliet
he also served as Set Decorator. He was Art Director on Caesar and Cleopatra (1945), On Such a Night
(1956) and Production Designer on Suddenly Last Summer (1959), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award.
During World War II he served as a camouflage officer, disguising pillboxes in Somerset. According to his fellow officer Julian Trevelyan, he revelled in the opportunity to give his talents free rein. His pillboxes included faux haystacks, castles, ruins and roadside cafes .
In 1946, Messel designed the sets and costumes for the Royal Ballet's new and highly successful production of Tchaikovsky's ballet The Sleeping Beauty, a production which famously starred Margot Fonteyn
. It became the first production of the ballet shown on American television, on the program Producers' Showcase
. That production, the first ever televised in color, survives on black-and-white kinescope
and has been released on DVD. In 2006, it was revived by the Royal Ballet, starring Alina Cojocaru
, with some new additions to the scenic design by Peter Farmer, and this production is also now on DVD.
In 1953, he was commissioned to design the decor for a suite at London's elegant Dorchester Hotel
, one in which he would be happy to live himself. The lavishly ornate Oliver Messel Suite, which the hotel advertises as Elizabeth Taylor
's favorite place to stay in London, combines baroque
and rococo
styles with modernist sensibility and a considerable dose of fantasy. The suite, along with other suites that he designed in the Dorchester, are preserved as part of Britain's national heritage. It was restored in the 1980s by many of the original craftsmen, overseen by Messel's nephew, Lord Snowdon
(Anthony Armstrong-Jones), the former husband of Princess Margaret.
), married HRH Princess Margaret, a life-long relationship with the British royalty began. Messel was later to design Les Jolies Eaux
, Princess Margaret’s home on Mustique
Island in The Grenadines
(a 45 min flight west of Barbados) and Point Lookout
the extraordinary stone beach house on the northern tip of Mustique. In 1959, Messel, exhausted by a demanding theatre season and recurring arthritis, retreated to Barbados
and the lush beauty of the eastern Caribbean. He was 55 and at the peak of a career in which he had dazzled three decades of theatre-goers with his fantastic, romantic and inspired stage sets and costumes. The warmth, colour and vibrancy of the tropics seemed to liberate new sources of energy and imagination, leading him to what would eventually become a whole new career in designing, building and transforming homes. Not content to rest there, he also designed many furnishings for these homes, particularly for outdoor use.
Messel bought an existing house called Maddox, a simple bay house perched above a small beach on the St. James coast. With the help of his companion Vagn Riis-Hansen and a Barbadian staff, he gradually transformed it using all the trademarks of his theatrical design: slender Greek columns, flattened arches, white-on-white interiors splashed with bright spots of colour, elaborate plaster mouldings - an easy mix of baroque and classical. It was his use of the materials and traditions of island architecture that was truly innovative.Wealthy friends clamoured for Messel to design houses for them, both on Barbados and Mustique, and thus began what architect Barbara Hill described as “his work … of converting quite ordinary houses into wonderlands.” As well as his own home, Maddox, he re-designed and supervised the renovations of Leamington House and Pavilion (for the Heinz
family), Crystal Springs, Cockade House, Alan Bay and Fustic House. He designed and built Mango Bay from scratch and was commissioned by the Barbados government to restore the old British officers Garrison headquarters in Queens Park, creating an elegant adaptation of it to a theatre and art gallery.
He would probably have gone on to do much more on Barbados, but was lured away by his friend Colin Tennant, Baron Glenconner and his private island home, Mustique
. Glenconner commissioned Messel to design all the houses built on the island. Between 1960 and 1978 Messel created some 30 house plans, of which over 18 have so far been built - a tangible and lasting tribute to his genius. But Barbados remained his first island love and his home, and he died there in 1978, at the age of 74. Fustic House was one of his favourite properties on Barbados.
One lasting legacy is that his preferred light sage green shade of paint, now known as “Messel Green’ by paint companies in the Caribbean, has been immortalized as many property owners choose this colour for its quintessential Caribbean-ness.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
artist and one of the foremost stage designers of the 20th century.
Messel was born in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, the second son of Lieutenant-Colonel Leonard Messel and Maud, the only daughter of Linley Sambourne
Edward Linley Sambourne
Edward Linley Sambourne was a cartoonist for Punch. He was born in Pentonville, London, the son of Edward Moot Sambourne....
, the eminent illustrator and contributor to Punch magazine. He was educated at Hawtreys
Hawtreys
Hawtreys Preparatory School was an independent boys' preparatory school, first established in Slough, later moved to Westgate-on-Sea, then to Oswestry, and finally to a country house near Great Bedwyn, Wiltshire...
, a boarding preparatory school
Preparatory school (UK)
In English language usage in the former British Empire, the present-day Commonwealth, a preparatory school is an independent school preparing children up to the age of eleven or thirteen for entry into fee-paying, secondary independent schools, some of which are known as public schools...
in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, Eton
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
— where his classmates included Harold Acton
Harold Acton
Sir Harold Mario Mitchell Acton CBE was a British writer, scholar and dilettante perhaps most famous for being wrongly believed to have inspired the character of "Anthony Blanche" in Evelyn Waugh's novel Brideshead Revisited...
, and Brian Howard — and at the Slade School of Fine Art
Slade School of Fine Art
The Slade School of Fine Art is a world-renownedart school in London, United Kingdom, and a department of University College London...
, University College
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
.
After completing his studies, he became a portrait painter and commissions for theatre work soon followed, beginning with his designing the masks for a London production of Serge Diaghilev's ballet Zephyr et Flore (1925). Subsequently, he created masks, costumes, and sets — many of which have been preserved by the Theatre Museum
Theatre Museum
The Theatre Museum in the Covent Garden district of London, England, was the United Kingdom's national museum of the performing arts. It was a branch of the UK's national museum of applied arts, the Victoria and Albert Museum...
, London — for various works staged by C. B. Cochran's revues through the late 1920s and early 1930s. His work as a set designer was also featured in the US in such Broadway shows as The Country Wife
The Country Wife
The Country Wife is a Restoration comedy written in 1675 by William Wycherley. A product of the tolerant early Restoration period, the play reflects an aristocratic and anti-Puritan ideology, and was controversial for its sexual explicitness even in its own time. The title itself contains a lewd pun...
(1936); The Lady's Not For Burning
The Lady's Not for Burning
The Lady's Not for Burning is a 1948 play by Christopher Fry.A romantic comedy in three acts, set in verse, it is set in the Middle Ages, it reflects the world's "exhaustion and despair" following World War II, with a war-weary soldier who wants to die, and an accused witch who wants to live...
(1950); Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...
(1951); House of Flowers
House of Flowers (musical)
House of Flowers is a musical by Harold Arlen and Truman Capote , based on his own short story, first published in Breakfast at Tiffany's as one of three extra pieces besides the titular novella...
(1954), for which he won the Tony Award; and Rashomon
Rashomon (play)
Though Akira Kurosawa's film Rashomon is the most famous instance, Akutagawa's stories have also been adapted for the stage.- Source material :...
(1959), which was nominated for a Tony Award for his costume as well as his set design. He also designed the costumes for Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...
; Rashomon
Rashomon
Rashomon may refer to:* Rashōmon, the former main city gate in two Japanese capital cities, Heijokyō and Heiankyō * Rashōmon , a short story by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa first published in 1915...
; and Gigi
Gigi
Gigi is a 1944 novella by French writer Colette. The plot focuses on a young Parisian girl being groomed for a career as a courtesan and her relationship with the wealthy cultured man named Gaston who falls in love with her and eventually marries her....
(1973), the latter two receiving Tony Award nominations.
For film his costume designs include The Private Life of Don Juan
The Private Life of Don Juan
The Private Life of Don Juan is a 1934 British comedy-drama film about the life of an aging Don Juan, based on the 1920 play L'homme à la Rose by Henry Bataille. The movie stars Douglas Fairbanks and Merle Oberon.-Plot:...
(1934); Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet (1936 film)
Romeo and Juliet is a 1936 American film adapted from the play by Shakespeare, directed by George Cukor from a screenplay by Talbot Jennings...
(1936); The Thief of Bagdad
The Thief of Bagdad (1940 film)
The Thief of Bagdad is a 1940 British fantasy film produced by Alexander Korda, and directed by Michael Powell, Ludwig Berger, and Tim Whelan, with contributions by Korda's brothers Vincent and Zoltán, and William Cameron Menzies...
(1940); and Caesar and Cleopatra (1945). For Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet (1936 film)
Romeo and Juliet is a 1936 American film adapted from the play by Shakespeare, directed by George Cukor from a screenplay by Talbot Jennings...
he also served as Set Decorator. He was Art Director on Caesar and Cleopatra (1945), On Such a Night
On Such a Night (1956 film)
On Such a Night is a 1956 British short comedy film directed by Anthony Asquith and starring David Knight, Josephine Griffin and Marie Lohr....
(1956) and Production Designer on Suddenly Last Summer (1959), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award.
During World War II he served as a camouflage officer, disguising pillboxes in Somerset. According to his fellow officer Julian Trevelyan, he revelled in the opportunity to give his talents free rein. His pillboxes included faux haystacks, castles, ruins and roadside cafes .
In 1946, Messel designed the sets and costumes for the Royal Ballet's new and highly successful production of Tchaikovsky's ballet The Sleeping Beauty, a production which famously starred Margot Fonteyn
Margot Fonteyn
Dame Margot Fonteyn de Arias, DBE , was an English ballerina of the 20th century. She is widely regarded as one of the greatest classical ballet dancers of all time...
. It became the first production of the ballet shown on American television, on the program Producers' Showcase
Producers' Showcase
Producers' Showcase is an American anthology television series that was telecast live during the 1950s in compatible color by NBC. With top talent, the 90-minute episodes, covering a wide variety of genres, aired under the title every fourth Monday at 8 p.m. ET for three seasons, beginning October...
. That production, the first ever televised in color, survives on black-and-white kinescope
Kinescope
Kinescope , shortened to kine , also known as telerecording in Britain, is a recording of a television program made by filming the picture from a video monitor...
and has been released on DVD. In 2006, it was revived by the Royal Ballet, starring Alina Cojocaru
Alina Cojocaru
Alina Cojocaru is a female principal dancer with The Royal Ballet of London.-Early years:Alina Cojocaru was born and raised in Bucharest, Romania. She has one sister. From a young age she studied gymnastics...
, with some new additions to the scenic design by Peter Farmer, and this production is also now on DVD.
In 1953, he was commissioned to design the decor for a suite at London's elegant Dorchester Hotel
Dorchester Hotel
The Dorchester is a luxury hotel in London, opened on 18 April 1931. It is situated on Park Lane in Mayfair, overlooking Hyde Park.The Dorchester was created by the famous builder Sir Robert McAlpine and the managing director of Gordon Hotels Ltd, Sir Frances Towle, who shared a vision of creating...
, one in which he would be happy to live himself. The lavishly ornate Oliver Messel Suite, which the hotel advertises as Elizabeth Taylor
Elizabeth Taylor
Dame Elizabeth Rosemond "Liz" Taylor, DBE was a British-American actress. From her early years as a child star with MGM, she became one of the great screen actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age...
's favorite place to stay in London, combines baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
and rococo
Rococo
Rococo , also referred to as "Late Baroque", is an 18th-century style which developed as Baroque artists gave up their symmetry and became increasingly ornate, florid, and playful...
styles with modernist sensibility and a considerable dose of fantasy. The suite, along with other suites that he designed in the Dorchester, are preserved as part of Britain's national heritage. It was restored in the 1980s by many of the original craftsmen, overseen by Messel's nephew, Lord Snowdon
Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon
Antony Charles Robert Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon, GCVO, RDI is an English photographer and film maker. He was married to Princess Margaret, younger daughter of King George VI and younger sister of Queen Elizabeth II....
(Anthony Armstrong-Jones), the former husband of Princess Margaret.
Messel & The Caribbean
Oliver Messel came from a wealthy, well-connected family and when his nephew, Anthony Armstrong-Jones (Earl of SnowdonEarl of Snowdon
Earl of Snowdon is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1961, together with the subsidiary title Viscount Linley, of Nymans in the County of Sussex, for Antony Armstrong-Jones, who was then the husband of HRH The Princess Margaret...
), married HRH Princess Margaret, a life-long relationship with the British royalty began. Messel was later to design Les Jolies Eaux
Les Jolies Eaux
Les Jolies Eaux is a former private royal residence on a headland on the island of Mustique, St Vincent.The name means "Beautiful Waters" and sits on given as a wedding present to Princess Margaret in 1959 from Lord Glenconner. The main house, completed in 1972, was designed by the princess's...
, Princess Margaret’s home on Mustique
Mustique
Mustique is a small private island in the West Indies. The island is one of a group of islands called the Grenadines, most of which form part of the country of St Vincent and the Grenadines....
Island in The Grenadines
Grenadines
The Grenadines is a Caribbean island chain of over 600 islands in the Windward Islands.-Geographic boundaries:They are divided between the island nations of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada. They lie between the islands of Saint Vincent in the north and Grenada in the south. Neither...
(a 45 min flight west of Barbados) and Point Lookout
Point Lookout
-Places:*Point Lookout, Maryland*Point Lookout, Missouri*Point Lookout, New York*Point Lookout, Queensland*Point Lookout State Park in Maryland*Point Lookout Cemetery in the Louisiana State Penitentiary -Other:*Point Lookout Sandstone...
the extraordinary stone beach house on the northern tip of Mustique. In 1959, Messel, exhausted by a demanding theatre season and recurring arthritis, retreated to Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
and the lush beauty of the eastern Caribbean. He was 55 and at the peak of a career in which he had dazzled three decades of theatre-goers with his fantastic, romantic and inspired stage sets and costumes. The warmth, colour and vibrancy of the tropics seemed to liberate new sources of energy and imagination, leading him to what would eventually become a whole new career in designing, building and transforming homes. Not content to rest there, he also designed many furnishings for these homes, particularly for outdoor use.
Messel bought an existing house called Maddox, a simple bay house perched above a small beach on the St. James coast. With the help of his companion Vagn Riis-Hansen and a Barbadian staff, he gradually transformed it using all the trademarks of his theatrical design: slender Greek columns, flattened arches, white-on-white interiors splashed with bright spots of colour, elaborate plaster mouldings - an easy mix of baroque and classical. It was his use of the materials and traditions of island architecture that was truly innovative.Wealthy friends clamoured for Messel to design houses for them, both on Barbados and Mustique, and thus began what architect Barbara Hill described as “his work … of converting quite ordinary houses into wonderlands.” As well as his own home, Maddox, he re-designed and supervised the renovations of Leamington House and Pavilion (for the Heinz
H. J. Heinz Company
The H. J. Heinz Company , commonly known as Heinz and famous for its "57 Varieties" slogan and its ketchup, is an American food company with world headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.Perhaps best known for its ketchup, the H.J...
family), Crystal Springs, Cockade House, Alan Bay and Fustic House. He designed and built Mango Bay from scratch and was commissioned by the Barbados government to restore the old British officers Garrison headquarters in Queens Park, creating an elegant adaptation of it to a theatre and art gallery.
He would probably have gone on to do much more on Barbados, but was lured away by his friend Colin Tennant, Baron Glenconner and his private island home, Mustique
Mustique
Mustique is a small private island in the West Indies. The island is one of a group of islands called the Grenadines, most of which form part of the country of St Vincent and the Grenadines....
. Glenconner commissioned Messel to design all the houses built on the island. Between 1960 and 1978 Messel created some 30 house plans, of which over 18 have so far been built - a tangible and lasting tribute to his genius. But Barbados remained his first island love and his home, and he died there in 1978, at the age of 74. Fustic House was one of his favourite properties on Barbados.
One lasting legacy is that his preferred light sage green shade of paint, now known as “Messel Green’ by paint companies in the Caribbean, has been immortalized as many property owners choose this colour for its quintessential Caribbean-ness.