Dan Leno
Drawing
May one see it?
Not receiving at present
Victoria and Albert Museum
London, United Kingdom
It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.
- Checked
- 7 days ago
- In this state since
- Sep 25, 2026
- Source
- The museum's own collection data
About the work
This self-portrait sketch of the much-loved music hall star Dan Leno (1860-1904) was probably originally a page from an autograph album. It depicts Leno as Abdullah, the captain of the forty thieves, in the pantomime The Forty Thieves by J. Hickory Wood and Arthur Collins, with music by J. Glover, which opened at Drury Lane Theatre on Boxing Day, 1898.
Read on
Dan Leno was born George Galvin in London, the son of the music hall singers known as Mr and Mrs Wilde. After his father's death, his mother married William Grant whose stage name was Leno, and Dan Leno appeared from the age of four with his brother Jack and his uncle Johnny Danvers, dancing in public houses all over England. By the age of 18 Dan was a champion clog-dancer and was engaged by George Conquest with Danvers for pantomime at London's Surrey Theatre. In 1889 he went to Drury Lane Theatre where he excelled as pantomime Dame for several years. He continued to appear in music hall where he specialised in long rambling anecdotes of incidents involving himself and his family. In 1901 he performed for King Edward VII at Sandringham, after which he was dubbed 'the King's Jester'.
Victoria and Albert Museum
Particulars
- Accession number
- S.205-2008
In the catalog
Sources
- Victoria and Albert Museum: the museum's own open data · fetched 7 days ago
- Image: Victoria and Albert Museum — © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
