44:, producing stage sets of unprecedented realism. Craven's career lasted from 1853 to 1905, spanning the end of the era of gas lighting in theatres and the beginning of electrical lighting; he developed new techniques to co-ordinate the appearance of theatre settings during the transition from gas to electricity. He was regarded as the finest scene-painter of his day and was the last major scenic designer in the ultra-realistic tradition.
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In 1871 Craven became principal scene-painter at the Lyceum
Theatre, a role he held for the next thirty years, first as an employee and later as a freelance artist. At first he worked under the management of H. L. Bateman, and then Bateman's widow. Despite early success with his scenery for the
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wrote, "In the art of scene painting
England stands paramount. Neither Paris, not Germany, nor New York can commence to approach, let alone rival, the work of the men who furnish London with its stage scenery. Such men as … Hawes Craven … are artists in the truest and best sense of the word."
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Craven (1802 or 1803–1866), was an actress, who left the stage, and published several volumes of prose and verse. He performed with his father as a youth, shortening his name to Hawes Craven. However, his aptitude for painting led him to apply for a place at the
Government School of Design at
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172:"with admirable results." Irving became well known for his Shakespeare productions, for which Craven painted strongly naturalistic scenery, which won critical applause and occasionally threatened to outshine the performers. His productions included
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Craven died of bronchitis at his home in south London on 22 July 1910, at the age of 73. Obituary tributes in the newspapers declared him to have been "the greatest of
English scene-painters, and perhaps the finest scene-painter who has ever lived"
521:, 7 February 1891, p. 11. Craven provided the sets for the three scenes of Act II (The Forest, and two interiors in the Castle of Torquilstone). Carte's elaborate production also featured sets by J. Harker (Act I) and Ryan and Telbin (Act III).
253:, built in 1881, was lit by electricity, unlike the Lyceum, which remained gas-lit for some years. Craven adjusted his techniques to match the stronger light produced by electric bulbs. For the Savoy, Craven painted scenery for
74:, London. He studied there from 1851 to 1853, winning many prizes. On leaving, he was a taken on as an apprentice by John Gray, scene-painter of the Britannia Theatre, Hoxton, London. When Gray moved to the
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made his name, Craven's opportunities were restricted until Irving became lessee and manager of the Lyceum in 1878. Craven, with Irving's support, carried scenic realism and stage illusion to new levels.
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in
October 1905. In the same year he was elected president of the Scenic Artists' Association. Craven was the last great practitioner of stage realism. In its obituary notice,
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wrote, "The most gifted scene-painters of the coming generation will probably try to suggest more and state less, to give symbols rather than imitations of nature."
295:(1893). Settings for these works ranged from a mediaeval Hungarian castle to a Japanese garden, the interior of a picture gallery, a Royal Naval ship modelled on
78:, Craven moved with him. In 1857 he had his first success, when Gray was ill and Craven did the work on a set depicting the Eddystone lighthouse for
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For some productions, Irving commissioned designs from well-known painters, which Craven would then re-create as scenery. These artists included
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theatres. In June 1866 he married a dancer, Mary
Elizabeth Watson Tees (1838–1891). There were three sons and three daughters of the marriage.
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160:. For other productions, Craven created the original designs as well as executing them. For his scenes in Irving's 1888 production of
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345:. Craven painted sets for stagings that famously included live rabbits running about in the forest scenes of
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220:(1902). By the mid-1880s, Craven was recognised as among the élite of his art. The theatrical newspaper
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The D'Oyly Carte Opera
Company in Gilbert and Sullivan Operas: A Record of Productions, 1875–1961
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87:
586:
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482:, William Telbin, Walter Hann, T. E. Ryan, Stafford Hall, and William Horford alongside Craven
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105:, from 1862 to 1864. In London, during the rest of the 1860s, Craven was an assistant at the
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in Venice, and a South Sea island. Also for Carte, Craven designed and painted scenery for
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32:(3 July 1837 – 22 July 1910) was an English theatre scene-painter. He collaborated with
61:, the son of theatrical parents. His father, James Green (d. 1881), was a comedian and
377:), whose "scenes were real pictures, with the atmosphere and charm of fine paintings" (
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445:, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edition, January 2008, accessed 22 July 2010.
414:, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edition, January 2008, accessed 22 July 2010.
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The pinnacle of theatrical realism was reached, with Craven's help, by
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65:, who had previously been an innkeeper. His mother, Elizabeth,
86:. He worked from a painting by a well-known seascape artist,
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on operas. His first post as chief scene-painter was at the
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In the late 1850s and early 1860s, Craven worked at the
351:. Craven's last substantial work was the scenery for
509:Rollins and Witts, unnumbered photographic pages
410:. Archive version of ODNB article (dated 1912),
245:, Craven painted the scenery for seven of the
478:, 1 September 1888, p. 13. The article named
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638:People associated with Gilbert and Sullivan
491:Act II only: see Rollins and Witts, p. viii
443:Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
412:Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
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581:Rollins, Cyril; R. John Witts (1962).
234:Programme crediting Craven's sets for
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566:. London: Sidgwick and Jackson.
99:Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
500:Rollins and Witts, pp. vii–viii
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628:20th-century English painters
618:19th-century English painters
249:. Carte's new theatre, the
439:"Craven, Hawes (1837–1910)"
408:"Craven, Hawes (1837–1910)"
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585:. London: Michael Joseph.
97:on pantomimes, and at the
319:Royal English Opera House
117:Lyceum and Savoy theatres
95:Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
633:English scenic designers
30:Henry Hawes Craven Green
464:The Manchester Guardian
447:(subscription required)
437:Ingram, Raymond (rev).
416:(subscription required)
375:The Manchester Guardian
366:The Manchester Guardian
333:1894 cartoons of Craven
280:The Yeomen of the Guard
357:The Merchant of Venice
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181:The Merchant of Venice
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623:English male painters
564:An Actor and his Time
466:, 27 July 1910, p. 14
343:Her Majesty's Theatre
339:Herbert Beerbohm Tree
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271:(1887), a revival of
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125:Craven's scenery for
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103:Theatre Royal, Dublin
42:Herbert Beerbohm Tree
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243:Richard D'Oyly Carte
158:Lawrence Alma-Tadema
38:Richard D'Oyly Carte
57:Craven was born in
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154:Edward Burne-Jones
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88:Clarkson Stanfield
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178:(1874 and 1878),
72:Marlborough House
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311:'s grand opera,
187:Romeo and Juliet
150:Ford Madox Brown
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355:'s revival of
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309:Arthur Sullivan
301:Tower of London
292:Utopia, Limited
274:H.M.S. Pinafore
199:King Henry VIII
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76:Olympic Theatre
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16:English painter
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480:W. R. Beverley
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348:As You Like It
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297:H.M.S. Victory
286:The Gondoliers
170:Harz mountains
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109:, Olympic and
84:The Lighthouse
80:Wilkie Collins
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540:The Standard
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256:Princess Ida
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247:Savoy operas
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214:(1895), and
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142:Henry Irving
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34:Henry Irving
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25:Hawes Craven
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613:1910 deaths
608:1837 births
325:Later years
289:(1890) and
140:, in which
63:pantomimist
53:Early years
602:Categories
553:References
462:Obituary,
262:The Mikado
217:Coriolanus
136:melodrama
591:504581419
321:in 1891.
317:, at the
305:Piazzetta
268:Ruddigore
211:Cymbeline
205:King Lear
166:Nuremberg
138:The Bells
48:Biography
562:(1979).
283:(1888),
277:(1887),
265:(1885),
259:(1884),
208:(1892),
202:(1892),
196:(1888),
190:(1882),
184:(1879),
168:and the
519:The Era
476:The Era
359:at the
314:Ivanhoe
236:Ivanhoe
223:The Era
193:Macbeth
128:Ivanhoe
111:Adelphi
589:
570:
544:quoted
303:, the
299:, the
175:Hamlet
131:, 1891
107:Lyceum
387:Notes
251:Savoy
162:Faust
59:Leeds
587:OCLC
568:ISBN
241:For
156:and
40:and
383:).
341:at
82:'s
67:née
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453:^
441:.
422:^
394:^
152:,
36:,
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576:.
373:(
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