Title
Sir Michael Gambon
Technique
Oil on canvas
Subject
Character
Falstaff : Play not specified
Artist
Date
2005
Dimensions
Height: 122cm
Width: 92cm
height (frame): 141cm
width (frame): 111cm
Inscription/signature
"GAMBON HENRY IV 1-2 FALSTAFF" (on book b.l.); "SIR MICHAEL GAMBON AS JOHN FALSTAFF AT THE NATIONAL THEATRE BY STUART PEARSON WRIGHT JUNE 2005 LONDON" (inscr pen on verso); "'I didn't realise Falstaff was such a hard part' M Gambon 05" ( inscr& signed on stretcher)
Provenance
The winning painting in the Garrick/Milne Prize 2005
Other number
Gift 1040
Exhibition history
"The Garrick/Milne Prize 2005", Christie's, London 2-13th September 2005
Sir Michael Gambon played Falstaff in both parts of Shakespeare's "Henry IV" in parallel productions at the National Theatre which ran from April - August 2005. Directed by Nicholas Hytner with designs by Mark Thompson, the casts included David Bradley as King Henry, David Harewood as Hotspur, Matthew Macfadyen as Prince Hal and John Wood as Shallow. Gambon's success as Falstaff was recorded in "The Stage": "Gambon ensures a high score - a swollen, misshapen, aged knight, he moves around the stage with his lopsided gait and pincer-like hands like a fat crab. He is witty, selfish, delightful, cruel, wistful and lecherous, spitting out sack as a bloated mushroom sprays out spores."