Oil sketch by Ruskin Spear (1911-1990), showing Laurence Olivier as Macbeth at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, 1955.
This oil sketch is one of at least two preparatory studies made by Ruskin Spear for a full length portrait of Laurence Olivier as Macbeth, commissioned by the governors of the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre at Stratford. The portrait shows Olivier as he appeared in the theatre’s 1955 production of Macbeth, directed by Glen Byam Shaw.
Due to Olivier’s work schedule, Spear painted the Macbeth portrait partly from photographs specially taken at Stratford by John Underwood, and partly from studio sittings. The finished portrait hangs in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s gallery.
