Peter Frederick Briscoe Snow (1927–2008) was an English painter, theatre designer and teacher. From the 1960s to the 1990s he was head of postgraduate theatre design at the

Slade School of Fine Art The UCL Slade School of Fine Art (informally The Slade) is the art school of University College London (UCL) and is based in London, England. It has been ranked as the UK's top art and design educational institution. The school is organised as ...

, with the help of

Nicholas Georgiadis Nicholas Georgiadis CBE ( el, Νίκος Γεωργιάδης; 14 September 1923 – 10 March 2001) was a Greek painter, stage and costume designer, best known for his work in ballet, particularly in collaboration with Sir Kenneth MacMillan. ...

and later,

Yolanda Sonnabend Yolanda Paulina Tamara Sonnabend (26 March 1935 – 9 November 2015) was a British theatre and ballet designer and painter, primarily of portraits. Early life Sonnabend was born in Bulawayo, Southern Rhodesia (present-day Zimbabwe) the younger ch ...

Life and work

Peter Snow, son of

Sir Frederick Snow Sir Frederick Sidney Snow CBE (14 February 1899 – 5 June 1976) was a civil and structural engineer. He was founder and senior partner of Frederick S. Snow and Partners, which became Sir Frederick Snow and partners. Snow was born in London. He ...

, was educated at Bloxham School in Oxfordshire, where he showed an early talent for painting and was involved in designing sets for school plays. In 1946, he studied briefly at

Goldsmiths College Goldsmiths, University of London, officially the Goldsmiths' College, is a constituent research university of the University of London in England. It was originally founded in 1891 as The Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute by the Wor ...

and worked as a journalist on the South London Press before doing his national service with the Royal Engineers in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

. Following his time in the army he gained a scholarship to the Slade, studying until 1953 and joining the staff in 1957. He was head of theatre design, succeeding Robert Medley. Snow started working in theatre in 1951, when he designed

Love's Labour's Lost ''Love's Labour's Lost'' is one of William Shakespeare's early comedies, believed to have been written in the mid-1590s for a performance at the Inns of Court before Queen Elizabeth I. It follows the King of Navarre and his three companions as ...

for the Southwark Shakespeare Festival. In 1954, Snow worked alongside

Joan Littlewood Joan Maud Littlewood (6 October 1914 – 20 September 2002) was an English theatre director who trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and is best known for her work in developing the Theatre Workshop. She has been called "The Mother of ...

at her Theatre Workshop in Stratford East. Two of his most admired designs for Littlewood were for a revival of John Marston's The Dutch Courtesan. Other early theatre work included designs for

Lennox Berkeley Sir Lennox Randal Francis Berkeley (12 May 190326 December 1989) was an English composer. Biography Berkeley was born on 12 May 1903 in Oxford, England, the younger child and only son of Aline Carla (1863–1935), daughter of Sir James Char ...

's one-act opera A Dinner Engagement at the

Aldeburgh Festival The Aldeburgh Festival of Music and the Arts is an English arts festival devoted mainly to classical music. It takes place each June in the Aldeburgh area of Suffolk, centred on Snape Maltings Concert Hall. History of the Aldeburgh Festival T ...

in 1954,

Frederick Ashton Sir Frederick William Mallandaine Ashton (17 September 190418 August 1988) was a British ballet dancer and choreographer. He also worked as a director and choreographer in opera, film and revue. Determined to be a dancer despite the opposit ...

's ballet Variations on a Theme by Purcell at the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal ...

in 1955, and

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time (magazine), Time'' magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combina ...

's South Sea Bubble, at the Lyric Theatre in 1956. In 1955, Snow designed the British premiere of

Samuel Beckett Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish novelist, dramatist, short story writer, theatre director, poet, and literary translator. His literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal and tragicomic ex ...

's '' Waiting for Godot'', directed by Peter Hall at the Arts Theatre, where he also designed the costumes. Snow’s first solo exhibition as a painter was at the Prospect Gallery in London in 1951, followed by a show at the Beaux Arts in 1957. Following a trip to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

in 1970, Snow held some of his most vivid painting and two multi-media entertainments, Reflections. These were held at Oval House in south

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

in 1971 and at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in 1975. Snow designed a BBC film about

Rex Whistler Reginald John "Rex" Whistler (24 June 190518 July 1944) was a British artist, who painted murals and society portraits, and designed theatrical costumes. He was killed in action in Normandy in World War II. Whistler was the brother of poet and ...

in 1978 and continued to exhibit regularly at the Beaux Arts and, after it closed down, the Piccadilly and Albemarle galleries. His occasional portraits included studies of Joan Littlewood and

Richard Eyre Sir Richard Charles Hastings Eyre (born 28 March 1943) is an English film, theatre, television and opera director. Biography Eyre was born in Barnstaple, Devon, England, the son of Richard Galfridus Hastings Giles Eyre and his wife, Minna Ma ...

, the film and theatre directors, which hang in the

National Portrait Gallery National Portrait Gallery may refer to: *National Portrait Gallery (Australia), in Canberra *National Portrait Gallery (Sweden), in Mariefred *National Portrait Gallery (United States), in Washington, D.C. *National Portrait Gallery, London, with s ...

Family and death

In 1963 Snow married Maria Wirth, an Australian colour consultant and interior designer; she died in December 2007. Towards the end of his life he suffered from Alzheimer's disease. He died 29 August 2008 and was survived by his daughter, the painter Selina Snow.

References

External links

The Art Stable - Contemporary and Modern British Paintings, Sculpture, Prints and Ceramics - Dorset - Gallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Snow, Peter 1927 births People educated at Bloxham School Alumni of the Slade School of Fine Art Alumni of Goldsmiths, University of London 2008 deaths 20th-century English painters English male painters 21st-century English painters 20th-century English male artists 21st-century English male artists