Tuesday 12 January 2010

Saville Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue WC2 (now Odeon Covent Garden)


 
High on the plain brick facade of the Saville Theatre in 1931, Gilbert Bayes placed these medallions representing Art through the Ages, as a counterpoint to Drama through the Ages on the frieze below. The sequence starts with Egyptian Art, represented by King Tut, and finishes with the Victorian Period, a largish gent with a monocle and a topper. What school of art is represented by Pompadour is a bit of a mystery - the Art of Hairdressing, perhaps.
 

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