Oliver Messel. by [Messel, Oliver] Castle, Charles: A Biography. Foreword by Sir John Gielgud.

London, : Thames and Hudson. First Edition.. Excellent condition with only minor signs of wear. From the collection of Margot Fonteyn - photographer and artist Keith Money. . First Edition. London, Thames and Hudson, 1986. 22.5cm x 28cm. 264 pages. With 145 Illustrations, 20 in colour. Original Hardcover with original dustjacket. Excellent condition with only minor signs of wear. From the collection of Margot Fonteyn - photographer and artist Keith Money. 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. 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. (Wikipedia)