Spencer Gore

Rule Britannia

1910

Image released under Creative Commons CC-BY-NC-ND (3.0 Unported)

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Not on display

Artist
Spencer Gore 1878–1914
Medium
Oil paint on canvas
Dimensions
Unconfirmed: 762 × 635 mm
frame: 970 × 845 × 115 mm
Collection
Tate
Acquisition
Presented by the Patrons of British Art through the Tate Gallery Foundation 1992
Reference
T06521

Display caption

Gore was fascinated by the theatre, ballet and music hall, and from his seat in the audience he made numerous sketchbook drawings on which he based his paintings. Rule Britannia shows the finale of a popular patriotic ballet called Our Flag, which opened at the Alhambra Theatre of Varieties, Leicester Square, in December 1909. It starred the Danish ballerina Britta Petersen, shown here performing the final dance in her Union Jack tutu. Gore emphasises the unusual colours of the stage lighting, which contrast with the dullness of the auditorium.

Gallery label, February 2016

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