Costumes for the musical Sentimental Bloke
Artist
Cedric Flower
(Australian, born 1920)
Date1950s
Object number00016693
NamePainting
MediumWatercolour paint, pencil, paper
DimensionsOverall: 245 × 404 mm
ClassificationsArt
Credit LineAustralian National Maritime Museum Collection
DescriptionA watercolour sketch of swimming costumes by Cedric Flower. The costumes were designed for the Australian musical 'The Sentimental Bloke' produced in 1961.
The image consists of three women on the left and three men on the right in costumes that represent the swimwear designs of 1900 - 1915.HistoryThis image shows some of the costumes designed by Cedric Flower for the swimwear used in the J.C. Williams on musical production 'The Sentimental Bloke' based on the poems of C.J. Dennis. It was performed in 1957 in Canberra, then at the Empire Theatre, Sydney and later, in 1961 at the Comedy Theatre, Melbourne and in 1962 at the Theatre Royal, Sydney.
The settings and costumes were designed by Cedric Flower. He has drawn three womens swimsuits and two for men, showing contemporary fashions in swimwear.
'The Sentimental Bloke' was written by C.J. Dennis in 1915. Dennis was one of Australia's popular comic poets and the work a much loved piece of Australian comic verse - about characters who became by-words for the Australian character in the early decades of this century. It was produced as a silent film in 1918, a stage play in 1922 and as a talkie in 1932.
The musical of the 1950s and early 1960s for which the costumes in this watercolour were designed, was written by Albert Arlen of Canberra.
Cedric Flower, born in 1920, is well known for his illustrative work and for his views of Sydney. He studied painting under Dattilo Rubbo, and also wrote radio plays, features and filmscripts - not to mention costume design and scene painting work. He is also an amateur costume historian and this watercolour of swimming and theatre costume represents swimwear design in the first decade of the 20th century, drawn by
Cedric Flower some forty years later.
SignificanceThe verse 'The Sentimental Bloke' is a large part of Australian popular culture, as are the characters who wore these
costumes.
