Geoffrey Burnand
Encyclopedia
Geoffrey Burnand was an English painter, theatrical designer and mural artist. His ancestors included the 19th Century Swiss painter Eugène Burnand
and Sir Francis Burnand, editor of Punch
magazine from 1880-1906.
, Sussex
to an English father, a Colonel
in the British Army
, and an Irish mother. His first noted ambition was at the age of six, when he wished to be a composer
. His father was not keen on such idea, as alluded to in Geoffrey's later recollection of his father's reaction when his ambitions turned towards painting: "My father agreed I could become a painter because he felt there was more chance of making a career in that field." His love of classical music would remain and serve as the basis for a series of later expressionist paintings, particularly after 1980.
, Windsor
until the age of 14½ when an agreement with his father enabled him to leave for Farnham School of Art, Farnham
, Surrey. "We struck a bargain and I think it was a fair one. I could train to be a painter as long as I didn't let my hair grow long or let any of my funny friends from the Royal Academy walk across his barrack square." He studied at Farnham under the Principal Otway McCannell, A.R.A. R.B.A.
from 1929 through to 1931.
He went on to study at the Royal Academy Schools under the tutelage of Sir Walter Thomas Monnington from 1931 to 1932.
Winning the prestigious Prix de Rome
award (Painting Category) in 1932, at the age of 20, provided Geoffrey with a scholarship to the British School at Rome
. He studied the history and techniques of the Old Masters at the BSR from 1933 to 1935.
, Franz Marc
and Max Beckmann
, the latter of whom he met in person during a trip to Berlin. He found considerable stimulus in their work and the influence of it latterly informed much of his own.
, Geoffrey returned to England and was ushered into the army
. Having spent most of the previous few years of his life in Italy and Germany, it was difficult to now consider them enemies. He would later say "Then I had to go and fight them. Didn't think much of that." Following attendance of Sandhurst
, Geoffrey would become a captain
and serve in his father's old regiment until the conclusion of the war in 1945. During this period he produced sketches and drawings of some of the troubling sights he encountered but only painted during periods of leave.
, Geoffrey was determined not to return home without first obtaining a job. He went to his local rep
, the Little Theatre in Nottingham (later to become the Nottingham Playhouse ) and became a Scenic Painter
. He had no prior experience of scenic painting but was hired on the basis of photographs of his work. While employed there he would have to paint up to three different sets every Sunday. Similar work followed at various other rep theatres including the Liverpool Playhouse
and Royal Hippodrome Theatre
in Eastbourne
.
Regard for his work in the medium was sufficiently high for him to be hired to work at a number of famous opera houses
, including the Royal Opera House
in the London district of Covent Garden
, Glyndebourne
opera house near Lewes
in East Sussex and the Teatro di San Carlo
opera house in Naples
, Italy
(on a production of Boris Godunov (opera)
). He also worked on various panto
productions and variety shows at the London Palladium
and painted the original sets for a production of My Fair Lady
in New York
, from designs by Cecil Beaton
.
in 1955. He worked for over a decade at Wembley Studios in Wembley
, London for ITV's London contractor Associated-Rediffusion
(later renamed Rediffusion London).
In time he worked on a number of feature films. Examples of his work can be seen in Diamonds For Breakfast
(1968) (including four large portraits of star Marcello Mastroianni
) and The Pied Piper
(1972) (including many of the mediaeval monsters in the dungeons.)
. He was also an accomplished portrait painter. The artist painted almost exclusively on canvas, and signed his work with his initials. He lived at Bordon
, Hampshire
after the war and later moved to Little Baddow
, Essex
.
Eugène Burnand
Eugène Burnand was a Swiss painter. He was born in the municipality of Moudon in the Swiss canton Vaud. Before moving to Paris in 1872 he studied with Barthélemy Menn at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Geneva...
and Sir Francis Burnand, editor of Punch
Punch (magazine)
Punch, or the London Charivari was a British weekly magazine of humour and satire established in 1841 by Henry Mayhew and engraver Ebenezer Landells. Historically, it was most influential in the 1840s and 50s, when it helped to coin the term "cartoon" in its modern sense as a humorous illustration...
magazine from 1880-1906.
Early life
Geoffrey Burnand was born in HastingsHastings
Hastings is a town and borough in the county of East Sussex on the south coast of England. The town is located east of the county town of Lewes and south east of London, and has an estimated population of 86,900....
, Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
to an English father, a Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
in the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
, and an Irish mother. His first noted ambition was at the age of six, when he wished to be a composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
. His father was not keen on such idea, as alluded to in Geoffrey's later recollection of his father's reaction when his ambitions turned towards painting: "My father agreed I could become a painter because he felt there was more chance of making a career in that field." His love of classical music would remain and serve as the basis for a series of later expressionist paintings, particularly after 1980.
Education
Geoffrey attended the Imperial Service CollegeImperial Service College
The Imperial Service College ' was a leading English public school based in Windsor.In 1942, it merged with Haileybury to form Haileybury and Imperial Service College...
, Windsor
Windsor, Berkshire
Windsor is an affluent suburban town and unparished area in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. It is widely known as the site of Windsor Castle, one of the official residences of the British Royal Family....
until the age of 14½ when an agreement with his father enabled him to leave for Farnham School of Art, Farnham
Farnham
Farnham is a town in Surrey, England, within the Borough of Waverley. The town is situated some 42 miles southwest of London in the extreme west of Surrey, adjacent to the border with Hampshire...
, Surrey. "We struck a bargain and I think it was a fair one. I could train to be a painter as long as I didn't let my hair grow long or let any of my funny friends from the Royal Academy walk across his barrack square." He studied at Farnham under the Principal Otway McCannell, A.R.A. R.B.A.
Royal Society of British Artists
The Royal Society of British Artists is a British art body established in 1823 as the Society of British Artists, as an alternative to the Royal Academy.-History:...
from 1929 through to 1931.
He went on to study at the Royal Academy Schools under the tutelage of Sir Walter Thomas Monnington from 1931 to 1932.
Winning the prestigious Prix de Rome
Prix de Rome
The Prix de Rome was a scholarship for arts students, principally of painting, sculpture, and architecture. It was created, initially for painters and sculptors, in 1663 in France during the reign of Louis XIV. It was an annual bursary for promising artists having proved their talents by...
award (Painting Category) in 1932, at the age of 20, provided Geoffrey with a scholarship to the British School at Rome
British School at Rome
The British School at Rome was established in 1901 and granted a Royal Charter in 1912 as an educational institute in the fields of archaeology, literature, music, and history of Rome and Italy of every period, and for the study of the fine arts and architecture...
. He studied the history and techniques of the Old Masters at the BSR from 1933 to 1935.
Further travel
The Prix de Rome award, in addition to providing a scholarship to the British School at Rome, also provided Geoffrey with the funds to make several study trips to Germany in the early-mid 1930s. It was on these trips he discovered the works of the German expressionist artists George GroszGeorge Grosz
Georg Ehrenfried Groß was a German artist known especially for his savagely caricatural drawings of Berlin life in the 1920s...
, Franz Marc
Franz Marc
Franz Marc was a German painter and printmaker, one of the key figures of the German Expressionist movement...
and Max Beckmann
Max Beckmann
Max Beckmann was a German painter, draftsman, printmaker, sculptor, and writer. Although he is classified as an Expressionist artist, he rejected both the term and the movement...
, the latter of whom he met in person during a trip to Berlin. He found considerable stimulus in their work and the influence of it latterly informed much of his own.
Military service
At the outbreak of World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Geoffrey returned to England and was ushered into the army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
. Having spent most of the previous few years of his life in Italy and Germany, it was difficult to now consider them enemies. He would later say "Then I had to go and fight them. Didn't think much of that." Following attendance of Sandhurst
Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst , commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is a British Army officer initial training centre located in Sandhurst, Berkshire, England...
, Geoffrey would become a captain
Captain (OF-2)
The army rank of captain is a commissioned officer rank historically corresponding to command of a company of soldiers. The rank is also used by some air forces and marine forces. Today a captain is typically either the commander or second-in-command of a company or artillery battery...
and serve in his father's old regiment until the conclusion of the war in 1945. During this period he produced sketches and drawings of some of the troubling sights he encountered but only painted during periods of leave.
Scenic Painting
When demobbedDemobilization
Demobilization is the process of standing down a nation's armed forces from combat-ready status. This may be as a result of victory in war, or because a crisis has been peacefully resolved and military force will not be necessary...
, Geoffrey was determined not to return home without first obtaining a job. He went to his local rep
Repertory
Repertory or rep, also called stock in the United States, is a term used in Western theatre and opera.A repertory theatre can be a theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation...
, the Little Theatre in Nottingham (later to become the Nottingham Playhouse ) and became a Scenic Painter
Scenic painting
Theatrical scenic painting includes wide-ranging disciplines, encompassing virtually the entire scope of painting and craft techniques. An experienced scenic painter will have skills in landscape painting, figurative painting, trompe l'oeil, and faux finishing, be versatile in different media such...
. He had no prior experience of scenic painting but was hired on the basis of photographs of his work. While employed there he would have to paint up to three different sets every Sunday. Similar work followed at various other rep theatres including the Liverpool Playhouse
Liverpool Playhouse
The Liverpool Playhouse is a theatre in Williamson Square in the city of Liverpool, Merseyside, England. It originated in 1866 as a music hall, and in 1911 developed into a repertory theatre. As such it nurtured the early careers of many actors and actresses, some of which went on to achieve...
and Royal Hippodrome Theatre
Royal Hippodrome Theatre
The Royal Hippodrome Theatre is a theatre in Eastbourne which dates back to 1883 making it the oldest theatre in the town. It was designed and built for the Theatre Manager and Impresario George Beaumont Loveday by the eminent theatre architect C J Phipps...
in Eastbourne
Eastbourne
Eastbourne is a large town and borough in East Sussex, on the south coast of England between Brighton and Hastings. The town is situated at the eastern end of the chalk South Downs alongside the high cliff at Beachy Head...
.
Regard for his work in the medium was sufficiently high for him to be hired to work at a number of famous opera houses
Opera house
An opera house is a theatre building used for opera performances that consists of a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and set building...
, including the Royal Opera House
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House 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 of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
in the London district of Covent Garden
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...
, Glyndebourne
Glyndebourne
Glyndebourne is a country house, thought to be about six hundred years old, located near Lewes in East Sussex, England. It is also the site of an opera house which, with the exception of its closing during the Second World War, for a few immediate post-war years, and in 1993 during the...
opera house near Lewes
Lewes
Lewes is the county town of East Sussex, England and historically of all of Sussex. It is a civil parish and is the centre of the Lewes local government district. The settlement has a history as a bridging point and as a market town, and today as a communications hub and tourist-oriented town...
in East Sussex and the Teatro di San Carlo
Teatro di San Carlo
The Real Teatro di San Carlo is an opera house in Naples, Italy. It is the oldest continuously active such venue in Europe.Founded by the Bourbon Charles VII of Naples of the Spanish branch of the dynasty, the theatre was inaugurated on 4 November 1737 — the king's name day — with a performance...
opera house in Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
(on a production of Boris Godunov (opera)
Boris Godunov
Boris Fyodorovich Godunov was de facto regent of Russia from c. 1585 to 1598 and then the first non-Rurikid tsar from 1598 to 1605. The end of his reign saw Russia descend into the Time of Troubles.-Early years:...
). He also worked on various panto
Pantomime
Pantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...
productions and variety shows at the London Palladium
London Palladium
The London Palladium is a 2,286 seat West End theatre located off Oxford Street in the City of Westminster. From the roster of stars who have played there and many televised performances, it is arguably the most famous theatre in London and the United Kingdom, especially for musical variety...
and painted the original sets for a production of My Fair Lady
My Fair Lady
My Fair Lady is a musical based upon George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion and with book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe...
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, from designs by Cecil Beaton
Cecil Beaton
Sir Cecil Walter Hardy Beaton, CBE was an English fashion and portrait photographer, diarist, painter, interior designer and an Academy Award-winning stage and costume designer for films and the theatre...
.
Film and television
Geoffrey painted audience stills for the BBC, which were used in early television programmes, and was one of the first painters hired by the fledgling ITVITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
in 1955. He worked for over a decade at Wembley Studios in Wembley
Wembley
Wembley is an area of northwest London, England, and part of the London Borough of Brent. It is home to the famous Wembley Stadium and Wembley Arena...
, London for ITV's London contractor Associated-Rediffusion
Associated-Rediffusion
Associated-Rediffusion, later Rediffusion, London, was the British ITV contractor for London and parts of the surrounding counties, on weekdays between 1954 and 29 July 1968. Transmissions started on 22 September 1955.-Formation:...
(later renamed Rediffusion London).
In time he worked on a number of feature films. Examples of his work can be seen in Diamonds For Breakfast
Diamonds for Breakfast (film)
Diamonds for Breakfast is a 1968 British comedy film directed by Christopher Morahan.-Cast:* Marcello Mastroianni - Grand Duke Nicholas Wladimirovitch Goduno* Rita Tushingham - Bridget Rafferty* Elaine Taylor - Victoria* Margaret Blye - Honey...
(1968) (including four large portraits of star Marcello Mastroianni
Marcello Mastroianni
Marcello Vincenzo Domenico Mastroianni, Knight Grand Cross was an Italian film actor. His honours included British Film Academy Awards, Best Actor awards at the Cannes Film Festival and two Golden Globe Awards.- Personal life :...
) and The Pied Piper
The Pied Piper (1972 film)
The Pied Piper is a 1972 British-American directed by Jacques Demy and starring Jack Wild, Donald Pleasence and John Hurt and featuring Donovan and Diana Dors. It is loosely based on the legend of the Pied Piper.-Cast:* Donovan ... The Piper...
(1972) (including many of the mediaeval monsters in the dungeons.)
Draftsman and portrait painter
Burnand was an accomplished draftsman and often-painted large multi figured compositions in the style of Max BeckmannMax Beckmann
Max Beckmann was a German painter, draftsman, printmaker, sculptor, and writer. Although he is classified as an Expressionist artist, he rejected both the term and the movement...
. He was also an accomplished portrait painter. The artist painted almost exclusively on canvas, and signed his work with his initials. He lived at Bordon
Bordon
Bordon is a town in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It lies 5.4 miles southeast of Alton and forms a part of the civil parish of Whitehill, the adjoining village. Both settlements are on the A325 road and close to the A3 road between London and Portsmouth...
, Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
after the war and later moved to Little Baddow
Little Baddow
Little Baddow is a large thriving village to the east of Chelmsford, Essex. The name Baddow comes from an Old English word meaning 'bad water', although this probably refers to the meadow area in Great Baddow as opposed to any water mass in Little Baddow...
, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
.