The Art of Ballet: The Peter Farmer Collection at Teddy Hall

The corridors of the Besse building have recently been enlivened with paintings of dancers, costumed actors and atmospheric theatre backdrops. These are some of the works of the late Peter Farmer (1936-2017) one of the leading ballet set designers of his generation. The Hall has been entrusted with Peter Farmer’s archives – a vast collection of sketches and drawings spanning his long career.

Peter Farmer was born in Luton in 1936. His first job was as a buyer for a local department store. He later enrolled at the local art college, and from there went to study theatre design at what is now Central Saint Martins in London. He painted, illustrated books and designed theatre sets, but his principal work was for Ballet, designing sets and costumes.

He worked for all of the prestigious British companies, but was also in demand internationally, including both the Bolshoi and the Mariinsky companies in Russia, American Ballet Theatre, the Washington Ballet, The Houston Ballet, the Pittsburg Ballet and many others. His work with choreographers included Sir Frederick Ashton, Sir Kenneth MacMillan, and Sir Peter Wright In 2010, he received a Prix Benois de la Danse Lifetime Achievement award, the only designer to receive this honour.