Roger Kemble Furse was an English

English people

The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...

 art director and costume designer of stage and film.

Career

The son of Lieutenant General

Lieutenant General

Lieutenant General is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages where the title of Lieutenant General was held by the second in command on the battlefield, who was normally subordinate to a Captain General....

 Sir William Furse

William Furse

Lieutenant General Sir William Thomas Furse KCB KCMG DSO was a Master-General of the Ordnance.-Military career:Educated at the Royal Grammar School, Guildford, Furse was commissioned into the Royal Artillery in 1884. He was Aide-de-Camp to Lord Roberts from 1891 to 1893.He served in the Second...

, Roger Furse was educated at 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"....

 and the Slade School of Fine Arts.

A frequent collaborator with Laurence Olivier

Laurence Olivier

Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...

, Furse won two Oscars in 1948 for his art direction and costume design

Costume design

Costume design is the fabrication of apparel for the overall appearance of a character or performer. This usually involves researching, designing and building the actual items from conception. Costumes may be for a theater or cinema performance but may not be limited to such...

 of Olivier's version of “Hamlet

Hamlet

The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...

”. His other film credits include
“Henry V

Henry V (1944 film)

Henry V is a 1944 film adaptation of William Shakespeare's play of the same name. The on-screen title is The Cronicle History of King Henry the Fift with His Battell Fought at Agincourt in France . It stars Laurence Olivier, who also directed. The play was adapted for the screen by Olivier, Dallas...

” (1945),
“Odd Man Out

Odd Man Out

Odd Man Out is a 1947 Anglo-Irish film noir directed by Carol Reed, starring James Mason, and is based on a novel of the same name by F. L. Green.-Plot:The film's opening intertitle reads:...

” (1947), “Ivanhoe

Ivanhoe (1952 film)

Ivanhoe is a 1952 historical film made by MGM. It was directed by Richard Thorpe and produced by Pandro S. Berman. The cast featured Robert Taylor, Elizabeth Taylor, Joan Fontaine, George Sanders, Emlyn Williams, Finlay Currie and Felix Aylmer...

” (1952) and “The Roman Spring of Mrs Stone” (1961). In 1946 he created the sets for the ballet Adam Zero

Adam Zero

Adam Zero is a ballet with music written by the British composer Arthur Bliss, in 1946.-Background:After World War I, Bliss developed an interest in ballet, after seeing the Ballets Russes of Sergei Diaghilev in London...

at Covent Garden

Royal Opera House

The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...

.

He was also nominated for a Tony Award

Tony Award

The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...

 in 1961 for his set design of the Broadway

Broadway theatre

Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...

 hit drama, Duel of Angels

Duel of Angels

Duel of Angels is a 1963 English adaptation by Christopher Fry of the play Pour Lucrèce written in 1944 by French dramatist Jean Giraudoux. The play is based on the story of Lucretia, the virtuous Roman housewife who was raped and, finding no support from her husband and his friends, is driven...

.

Family

Furse's portrait of his wife, |Margaret]], an Academy Award-winning costume design

Costume design

Costume design is the fabrication of apparel for the overall appearance of a character or performer. This usually involves researching, designing and building the actual items from conception. Costumes may be for a theater or cinema performance but may not be limited to such...

er, is included in the permanent collection of the National Portrait Gallery in London.

Ralph Furse's sister was actress Judith Furse

Judith Furse

-Career:A member of the noted Furse family, her father was Lieutenant-General Sir William Furse. Her brother, Roger, became a celebrated stage designer and painter who occasionally worked in films....

.

External links