Just when I was going to add an image of the patchwork background of the Arts for All panel in celebration of the current V & A exhibition Lawrence of Arabia was identified on the Needleprint blog.
This portrayal is not so much about TE Lawrence as Peter O'Toole in his most famous role which I can't believe was as long ago as 1962 (though my daughter thought it was nearer the 1930s).
Peter O’Toole was born in Ireland on 2nd August 1932 but moved with his family to the Hunslet area of Leeds as a child. After National Service he was awarded a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts and in 1959 was awarded Best Actor of the Year for his performance as Private Bamforth in Willis Hall’s ‘The Long and the Short and the Tall’.
Freda Copley embroidered this piece and I really will have to contact her to describe the number of techniques involved.
Can you tell me the size of this piece? I am so impressed with the lifelike way his clothing and headdress drape, something I have struggled with in small scale. Presumably it was very fine fabric? (And what a happy looking camel!)
ReplyDeleteI'm going to have to go and measure it! The panels are each 3'6" x 8' (2.4 x 1.5 metres) if that helps. Hopefully Freda will email and tell us more about the piece.
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