Audrey Cruddas (1912–1979) was an English costume and scene designer, painter and potter.

Biography

Born in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

, South Africa, Cruddas moved to England with her parents when she was an infant. After leaving school she studied art at St John's Wood School of Art,

Royal Academy Schools The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its purpo ...

, and Bram Shaw School of Drawing and Painting. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, she worked as a 'Land Girl' in the

Women's Land Army The Women's Land Army (WLA) was a British civilian organisation created in 1917 by the Board of Agriculture during the First World War to bring women into work in agriculture, replacing men called up to the military. Women who worked for the W ...

. At the end of the conflict she began to design costumes for the theatre and was quickly talent spotted by the dancer and actor

Sir Robert Helpmann Sir Robert Murray Helpmann Order of the British Empire, CBE ( Helpman, 9 April 1909 – 28 September 1986) was an Australian ballet dancer, actor, director, and choreographer. After early work in Australia he moved to Britain in 1932, where he j ...

. Cruddas soon became one of the leading modern theatre designers of the post war period. Cruddas' first commission was designing costumes for '' The White Devil'' at the

Duchess Theatre The Duchess Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster, London, located in Catherine Street near Aldwych. The theatre opened on 25 November 1929 and is one of the smallest West End theatres with a proscenium arch. It has 494 se ...

, London (1947). This production starred her friend and mentor Robert Helpmann. Other early career highlights were for John Burrell’s 1947

Old Vic Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary * Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Ma ...

production of

Taming of the Shrew ''The Taming of the Shrew'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1592. The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunken ...

and Verdi’s,

Aida ''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 December ...

at Convent Garden (1948). Notable later productions include

Michael Benthall Michael Pickersgill Benthall CBE (8 February 1919 – 6 September 1974) was an English theatre director. Michael Benthall was the son of the British businessman and public servant Sir Edward Charles Benthall and of the Hon. Lady Benthall, ''née ...

’s

productions of ''

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...

'' (1955), ''

Cymbeline ''Cymbeline'' , also known as ''The Tragedie of Cymbeline'' or ''Cymbeline, King of Britain'', is a play by William Shakespeare set in British Iron Age, Ancient Britain () and based on legends that formed part of the Matter of Britain concerni ...

'' (1957), and ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

'' (1958), and Peter Potter’s

Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the Edinburgh Fe ...

production of ‘ The Wallace’ (1960). In 1952, Cruddas illustrated a

Folio Society The Folio Society is a London-based publisher, founded by Charles Ede in 1947 and incorporated in 1971. Formerly privately owned, it operates as an employee ownership trust since 2021. It produces illustrated hardback editions of classic fict ...

edition of

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

’s, ''The Tragedy of Antony & Cleopatra'' (the forward of this edition was written by her friend,

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier (; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director who, along with his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud, was one of a trio of male actors who dominated the Theatre of the U ...

) and the book was republished again in 1963. Although best known for her theatre work she was an accomplished artist in different mediums – painting, drawing and ceramics. That same year, she also won the

Donaldson Award The Donaldson Awards were a set of theatre awards established in 1944 by the drama critic Robert Francis in honor of W. H. Donaldson (1864–1925), the founder of ''The Billboard'' (now ''Billboard'') magazine. Categories included "best new pla ...

for outstanding achievement for her designs for ''Caesar and Cleopatra.'' Fry Art Gallery (2012). The Artists. In: ''Artists at the Fry: Art and design in the North West Essex Collection'' (pp. 45-46). Saffron Walden, Essex: The Fry Art Gallery. In the early 1950s, Cruddas moved to the

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

village of

Great Bardfield Great Bardfield is a large village in the Braintree district of Essex, England. It is located approximately northwest of the town of Braintree, and approximately southeast of Saffron Walden. The village came to national attention during the ...

. At Bardfield she became involved with the dynamic art community which included:

John Aldridge John William Aldridge (born 18 September 1958) is a former football player and manager. He was a prolific, record-breaking striker best known for his time with English club Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in M ...

Edward Bawden Edward Bawden, (10 March 1903 – 21 November 1989) was an English painter, illustrator and graphic artist, known for his prints, book covers, posters, and garden metalwork furniture. Bawden taught at the Royal College of Art, where he had be ...

George Chapman George Chapman (Hitchin, Hertfordshire, – London, 12 May 1634) was an English dramatist, translator and poet. He was a classical scholar whose work shows the influence of Stoicism. Chapman has been speculated to be the Rival Poet of Shak ...

, Stanley Clifford-Smith,

Joan Glass Elizabeth Joan Glass (1915–2000), was an English textile designer and painter. Biography Youth Glass was born in Orpington, Kent. She was the oldest of three daughters born to John Pomeroy Glass and Edith Mary Muirhead. Her father, was a se ...

Walter Hoyle Walter Hoyle (1922–2000) was an English artist, known for his prints, watercolours and illustration. He was a central figure in the Great Bardfield group of artists and a close associate of Edward Bawden. He taught at the Central School, Londo ...

Sheila Robinson Sheila Robinson may refer to: * Sheila Radley, a pseudonym of Sheila Robinson, British mystery novelist * Sheila Robinson (artist), a British artist * Sheila Robinson (publisher), a businesswoman and magazine founder {{Disambiguation} ...

Michael Rothenstein William Michael Rothenstein (19 March 1908 – 6 July 1993) was a British printmaker, painter and art teacher. Early life Born in Hampstead, London, on 19 March 1908, he was the youngest of four children born to the celebrated artist, Sir W ...

Marianne Straub Marianne Straub OBE (23 September 1909 – 8 November 1994) was one of the leading commercial designers of textiles in Britain in the period from the 1940s to 1960s. She said her overriding aim was: "to design things which people could afford. .. ...

, among others. During this period she focused on

watercolour Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...

paintings. Cruddas lived in ''Walton House'', Great Bardfield (next door to Edward Bawden’s ''Brick House'') during most of the 1950s and she was an important member of the art community that lived in the Essex village. In the 1960s, she moved to ''Bank House'',

Botesdale Botesdale is a village and civil parish in the Mid Suffolk district of the English county of Suffolk. The village is about south west of Diss, south of Norwich and north east of Bury St Edmunds. The village of Rickinghall merges with Botesda ...

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

. During her exhibiting career, her paintings were shown at the Islington Galleries and the Augustin Gallery,

Holborn Holborn ( or ) is a district in central London, which covers the south-eastern part of the London Borough of Camden and a part ( St Andrew Holborn Below the Bars) of the Ward of Farringdon Without in the City of London. The area has its roots ...

. Cruddas' work is in the collections of the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

, the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

and the

Fry Art Gallery The Fry Art Gallery is an art gallery in Saffron Walden, Essex. Recognised as an Accredited Museum by Arts Council England, it displays work by artists of national significance who lived or worked in North West Essex during the twentieth cent ...

Saffron Walden Saffron Walden is a market town in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England, north of Bishop's Stortford, south of Cambridge and north of London. It retains a rural appearance and some buildings of the medieval period. The population was 15, ...

References

Bibliography

*David Buckman, ''The Dictionary of Artists in Britain Since 1945'', Art Dictionaries Ltd, Bristol, 1998. *Martin Salisbury (ed), ''Artists at the Fry'', Ruskin Press, Cambridge, 2003. *Frances Spalding, 'The Women of Bardfield' (exhibition catalogue), Fry Art Gallery, Saffron Walden, 2010. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cruddas 1912 births 1979 deaths People from Johannesburg English costume designers English scenic designers 20th-century English painters English potters South African emigrants to the United Kingdom People from Great Bardfield Women potters 20th-century British women artists 20th-century ceramists British women ceramicists