The photographs of Angus McBean : from the stage to the surreal / introduction by Frederic Woodbridge Wilson ; text by Richard Traubner

McBean, Angus 1904-1990

ISBN 10: 050054350X / ISBN 13: 9780500543504

Published by London : Thames & Hudson, 2009

About this Item

Fine cloth copy in an equally fine dust-wrapper. Particularly well-preserved overall; tight, bright, clean and especially sharp-cornered. Physical description; xv, 175 pages : illustrations ; 23 x 25 cm. Notes; Includes bibliographical references and index. Contents; Introduction / Fredric Woodbridge Wilson -- Angus McBean / Richard Traubner -- Photographs -- Shakespeare Productions -- Stage Productions -- Opera and Dance -- Portraits -- Surreal and Montage ' -- Note on the Angus McBean Archive. Subjects; McBean, Angus 1904-1990. Portrait photography. Theater England London ; Pictorial works. Actors ; Portraits. 1 Kg.

Seller Inventory # 406475

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The photographs of Angus McBean : from the stage to the surreal / introduction by Frederic Woodbridge Wilson ; text by Richard Traubner
• Publisher: London : Thames & Hudson
• Publication Date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 050054350X
• ISBN 13: 9780500543504
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: First Edition.
• Weight: 1 kilogram

About this title

Synopsis

‘My kind of theatre concerns itself with kings and queens, princesses sleeping or otherwise in ivory towers, or in enchanted castles with satins, furs and cloths of gold…There must be huge splashes of colour, wild music, beautiful people, monstrous Calibans; magic, imagination, illusion, fairies, oceans of blood and wine, and always happy endings…’. So wrote Angus McBean of the theatre for which he was the court photographer for nearly thirty years, the London stage from the 1930s to the 1960s that encompassed legendary productions of Shakespeare, Congreve, Shaw,Wilde and Coward, the operas of Benjamin Britten, and the beginnings of the Royal Ballet and the Royal National Theatre. Blending wit, drama and fantasy with the consummate skill of a master practitioner, McBean was undoubtedly one of the greats of theatrical, creative and commercial photography. The best of his theatrical portraits, in which he immortalized the likes of Audrey Hepburn, Laurence Olivier and Alec Guinness, are superbly reproduced here in this sumptuous volume, which will be snapped up by anyone with an interest in British theatre, photography and surrealism.

Review

'Portraiture at its best' --Amateur Photography

'Elegant and beautifully presented ... an enthralling reminder of the dramatic power and comic possibilities McBean utilised in his stunning black and white photographs' --3Sixty Magazine

'Lavishly produced ... Author Frederic Woodbridge Wilson has compiled a sumptuous and highly readable book' --Black & White Photography

'Lustrous ... full of wit, fantasy and the biggest stars of 20th-century theatre' --The Independent on Sunday

'Will appeal to anyone with an interest in photography as an art form as well as a means of historical record'
--Scottish Daily Express

'Dreamy'
--Harper's Bazaar