Drawing

Pen and ink sketch with highlights in blue crayon, created for publication in an illustrated newspaper or magazine, probably 'The Sketch'. It shows a backstage view of the Empire Theatre and is captioned 'Angels going aloft', 'Empire'. The focus of the illustration is a group of women dressed in loose, flowing robes climbing up a steep flight of stairs which have been positioned at the rear of the Scenery Flats.

The sketch was painted by Louis Gunnis in 1896 and has been signed by the artist in the bottom right hand corner.

This item is one of several theatrical drawings from a collection of sketches commissioned from contemporary artists to be printed in illustrated magazines. The collection was donated to the museum by Sir William James Ingram in 1914.