Have one like this?
Upload a photo for a free check of what yours may be worth.
Lot description
Keith Michell (Australian, 1926-2015) A group of ten architectural studies of European cities, 1950s to include: St Peter's Cathedral, Rome; Boulevard St Michel, Paris; 'Equestrian Statue and Royal Palace, Madrid', 'Statue of Dante, Piazza Dei Signori, Verona' and Stratford-upon-Avon, each signed 'Michell' and inscribed with title, pen and ink and washes (28 x 19cm; framed 41 x 31cm and similar) (10) Provenance: The artist; thence by descent. Footnote: The works by Keith Michell offered for sale in this auction are from the artist's private collection, and previously hung on the walls of his home in Hampstead. They evoke memories of his Australian homeland, his travels, his garden, his beloved Majorca and his extraordinary career as an award-winning actor. Born in Adelaide, South Australia, in 1926, Keith Michell initially pursued a career in the fine arts, before an offer of a place at the legendary Old Vic Theatre School prompted a life-changing move to London, marking the start of an extraordinary career treading the boards. His work as an actor, singer, designer and director spanned six decades - including critically acclaimed Shakespearean roles with Sir Laurence Olivier’s Old Vic Theatre Company, and starring roles in hit musicals 'Robert & Elizabeth', 'Man of La Mancha', 'La Cage aux Folles' and 'Irma La Douce' in the West End and on Broadway - inspiring a a whole generation of performers. Alongside his tenure as Artistic Director of the Chichester Festival Theatre (1974–77), Keith will forever be associated with his iconic portrayal of Henry VIII in the seminal 1970s television series 'The Six Wives of Henry VIII' for which he won a BAFTA. Throughout his life, Keith continued to develop his artistic practice and, while working on film and stage productions, he often sketched and painted as part of his creative process in building a role. This lifelong commitment culminated in the exhibition 'Keith Michell: A Life in the Arts', a retrospective held at the Menier Gallery, London, in 2016. Curated by Keith’s daughter, actress Helena Michell, and her husband, writer and fine artist Simon David Eden, the exhibition was presented in support of Paintings in Hospitals, reaffirming Keith’s belief in art as both a personal practice and a public gift. The pen and ink drawings in this lot were completed on a 'grand UK and European tour' that Michell took in the early 1950s. Having arrived from Australia by boat at the age of 27 in 1953, this was his first experience of European culture, art and Renaissance architecture and, as an artist, he was compelled to capture all that he saw. The extraordinary contrast to the wide dusty open plains of Port Piri, where he grew up, could not have been sharper. We are grateful to the family of Keith Michell for their assistance with the cataloguing of this lot. Condition Report: Time staining and discolouration to seven. Ink washes a little faded. Light rippling to 'St Chapelle' and 'The Gallery of Battles, Versailles'. Light creasing to Stratford-Upon-Avon'. Not viewed out of glazed frames.