Oliver Messel - Design for the Interior of Rayne Shoe Shop - 1960
Oliver Messel - Design for the Interior of Rayne Shoe Shop - 1960
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OLIVER MESSEL
(1904-1978)
Design for the Interior of Rayne Shoe Shop, 1960
Signed l.r.: Oliver Messel
Watercolour over pencil heightened with white
Framed
23 by 34.5 cm., 9 by 13 ½ in.
(frame size 43.5 by 55 cm., 17 ¼ by 21 ½ in.)
Provenance:
Henry Southeran Ltd.
Born in London, Messel was the grandson of the illustrator Linley Sambourne. After Eton he studied art at the Slade School of Art and by the early 1930s had established himself as one of Britain’s principal stage designers. Initially working for the Cochran Revues, he went on to design for many theatrical, operatic, ballet and film productions. His books included Stage Designs and Costumes, 1933; Designs for A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 1957 and Delightful Food, 1958. He exhibited at the Leicester Galleries and Redfern Gallery and also designed interiors and gardens of the Dorchester Hotel, Flaxley Abbey, Gloucestershire and elsewhere as well as several houses and grounds in Barbados and Mustique. The Victoria & Albert Museum hold the majority of his design archives.
Rayne was a British maker of high-end couture shoes. Founded in 1899 as a theatrical costumier it moved to fashion shoes in the 1920s becoming holder of Royal Warrants to Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother and Queen Elizabeth II. In the 1950s Messel had collaborated with the luxury shoemaker Rayne, designing shoes for the stage and film. In 1959 Messel was commission to redesign Rayne’s flagship shop at 58 Old Bond Street. He designed an elegant exterior with opulent and theatrical interiors creating what was called “the most beautiful shoe shop in the world”. The shop was tragically demolished in 1987 and the space redeveloped.
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Design for the Interior of Rayne Shoe Shop, 1960Signed l.r.: Oliver MesselWatercolour over pencil heightened with whiteFramed23 by 34.5 cm., 9 by 13 ½ in.(frame size 43.5 by 55 cm., 17 ¼ by 21 ½ in.)Provenance:Henry Southeran Ltd.Born in London, Messel was the grandson of the illustrator Linley Sambourne. After Eton he studied art at the Slade School of Art and by the early 1930s had established himself as one of Britain’s principal stage designers. Initially working for the Cochran Revues, he went on to design for many theatrical, operatic, ballet and film productions. His books included Stage Designs and Costumes, 1933; Designs for A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 1957 and Delightful Food, 1958. He exhibited at the Leicester Galleries and Redfern Gallery and also designed interiors and gardens of the Dorchester Hotel, Flaxley Abbey, Gloucestershire and elsewhere as well as several houses and grounds in Barbados and Mustique. The Victoria & Albert Museum hold the majority of his design archives.Rayne was a British maker of high-end couture shoes. Founded in 1899 as a theatrical costumier it moved to fashion shoes in the 1920s becoming holder of Royal Warrants to Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother and Queen Elizabeth II. In the 1950s Messel had collaborated with the luxury shoemaker Rayne, designing shoes for the stage and film. In 1959 Messel was commission to redesign Rayne’s flagship shop at 58 Old Bond Street. He designed an elegant exterior with opulent and theatrical interiors creating what was called “the most beautiful shoe shop in the world”. The shop was tragically demolished in 1987 and the space redeveloped.){kind=link}