Grieve Family Theatre Designs

Conservation of collection of 655 original scene designs in watercolour and wash, painted by John Henderson Grieve (1770-1845) and his sons Thomas (1799-1882) and William (1800-1844). The designs are for productions including ballet, pantomime, plays (inc Shakespeare) and opera, dating from the 1820's onwards. The collection includes panoramas and some cut-outs used as models for perspective effects. The Grieve family dominated the Theatre Royal Convent Garden in the 1820s and 1930s, and the designs are mainly for the Covent Garden and Drury Lane Theatres. It is one of the largest surviving collections of any scenic artist or artists before this century. The designs were pasted, possibly by a member of the family, into folio-sized albums, with captions added to some. There are three such albums containing 50-80 items which required conservation.