Yul Brynner; Gertrude Lawrence

1 portrait of Gertrude Lawrence

© National Portrait Gallery, London

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Yul Brynner; Gertrude Lawrence

by Dorothy Wilding
bromide print, 27 April 1951
8 1/4 in. x 9 1/8 in. (208 mm x 233 mm) overall
Given by the photographer's sister, Susan Morton, 1976
Photographs Collection
NPG x19921

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Artistback to top

  • Dorothy Wilding (1893-1976), Photographer. Artist or producer associated with 2179 portraits, Sitter in 30 portraits.

This portraitback to top

Wilding's portrait of Lawrence and Yul Brynner (1915-85) was made in the photographer's New York studio at the time of her final role, as Anna in Rodgers and Hammerstein's The King and I, which opened on Broadway on 29 March 1951. Lawrence was awarded a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her role opposite Brynner's King of Siam. Lawrence suffered from ill-health throughout the production's run, and died on 5 September 1952. The night after her funeral, the lights on theatres in London's West End and New York's Broadway were dimmed in tribute.

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Events of 1951back to top

Current affairs

The Conservative Party wins the general election and Winston Churchill returns for a second term as prime minister.

Art and science

On the centenary of the Great Exhibition of 1851, the Festival of Britain is held as a nationwide celebration of British culture, and as an impetus for post-war regeneration. As well as various art, science and industrial exhibitions and events, a major regeneration project was initiated for the South Bank area of London under the directorship of the architect, Hugh Casson.

International

Libya declares its sovereignty from Italian rule, becoming the first independent state to be created by the UN.
At the Treaty of San Francisco, 48 nations sign a peace treaty with Japan, officially ending the Pacific War - the last battleground of the Second World War.

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