Laurence Olivier as King Lear in 'King Lear'

by Lord Snowdon
cibachrome print, 1983
10 5/8 in. x 9 1/2 in. (269 mm x 242 mm)
Purchased, 1987
Photographs Collection
NPG x29993

Sitterback to top

Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier (1907-1989), Actor, producer and director. Sitter in 114 portraits.

Artistback to top

Antony Charles Robert Armstrong Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon (1930-2017), Photographer, film-maker and designer; former husband of Princess Margaret. Artist of 285 portraits, Sitter in 22 portraits.

Subjects & Themesback to top

Events of 1983back to top

Current affairs

Margaret Thatcher wins a landslide majority for the Conservative Party at the general election. Although her premiership had previously been unpopular, the British victory in the Falklands coupled with divisions in Michael Foot's Labour opposition, helped her to gain popularity and win the most decisive election victory since 1945.

Art and science

The British sitcom Blackadder is aired for the first time. Each of the four series followed the character of the anti-hero Edmund Blackadder and took place during a different period of British history. The first series, The Black Adder, was a satire of medieval England during the rein of the fictitious Richard IV, and frequently lifted famous lines from Shakespeare.

International

The armed struggle between Tamil militants and the Sinhalese-dominated government of Sri Lanka begin with the Black July pogrom. Mobs (allegedly supported by the government) started attacking and murdering Tamils following an attack by Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam on government soldiers. Civil war between the government and Tamil nationalists has continued sporadically ever since.

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