Sir Frederick Ashton
(1904-1988), Ballet dancer; founder-choreographer and Director of the Royal BalletSir Frederick William Mallandaine Ashton
Sitter in 31 portraits
Ashton created his first ballet A Tragedy of Fashion in 1926. Choreographing several pieces for the Vic-Wells Ballet he joined the company in 1935. As resident choreographer, he worked with the young Fonteyn, who became his muse. Among his greatest ballets are Symphonic Variations (1946), Scènes de Ballet (1948), La Fille mal gardée (1960), The Dream (1964), and A Month in the Country (1976). Knighted in 1962, he became director of the company the following year. In 1970 he was made a Companion of Honour and awarded the Order of Merit in 1977. His later ballets include Five Brahms Waltzes in the Manner of Isadora Duncan (1979, created for Lynn Seymour) and Rhapsody (1980).
Comments back to top
We are currently unable to accept new comments, but any past comments are available to read below.
If you need information from us, please use our Archive enquiry service . Please note that we cannot provide valuations. You can buy a print or greeting card of most illustrated portraits. Select the portrait of interest to you, then look out for a Buy a Print button. Prices start at around £6 for unframed prints, £16 for framed prints. If you wish to license an image, select the portrait of interest to you, then look out for a Use this image button, or contact our Rights and Images service. We digitise over 8,000 portraits a year and we cannot guarantee being able to digitise images that are not already scheduled.