An Artists Studio

 

On my most recent trip to London, I visited the new V & A Storehouse.  The warehouse that houses most of the Victoria and Albert Museum's items that are not currently on display in the museum.  While there I saw this painting that tickled my curiosity.  It was painted by Irving Lawrence (1897-1988), an artist I did not know.

The painting is called "Alick Johnstone's Scenic Studios and it represents a studio where stage sets are designed and painted.

Lawrence was the grandson of actor Henry Irving and was trained at the Royal Academy. He became an artist and set designer working on both theatre and films.  He would have known Alick Johnstone's studio very well.  

The backdrops pictured in the painting were used for the final scene of Henry VIII which opened in 1925.