Patience Glossop Harris (1857 – December 1901), was a British costume designer for the theatre best known for her work with the actor

Ellen Terry Dame Alice Ellen Terry (27 February 184721 July 1928) was a leading English actress of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Born into a family of actors, Terry began performing as a child, acting in Shakespeare plays in London, and toured ...

early in her career.

Biography

Patience Glossop Harris was the daughter of

Augustus Glossop Harris Augustus Frederick Glossop Harris (5 June 1825 – 19 April 1873) was a British actor, writer, and theatre manager. Born in Portici, Naples, Italy, on 5 June 1825, he was the son of Joseph Glossop, first manager of the Royal Coburg Theatre (now ...

, an actor and theatre manager, and Maria Ann ( Bone) Harris, a theatrical costumier. She had two sisters, Ellen (Nelly) and Maria, and two brothers, Charles and

Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

, an actor and theatrical manager. Harris oversaw the actress

's costumes during the first decade of Terry's career at the Lyceum Theatre, from the late 1870s to the late 1880s During this period Harris designed elaborate, heavy costumes in luxurious fabrics for ''

Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...

'', ''

The Merchant of Venice ''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan taken out on behalf of his dear friend, Bassanio, and provided by a ...

'', and ''

Much Ado About Nothing ''Much Ado About Nothing'' is a Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599.See textual notes to ''Much Ado About Nothing'' in ''The Norton Shakespeare'' (W. W. Norton & Company, 1997 ) p. ...

'', among other plays. In 1882 Terry brought the costume designer

Alice Comyns Carr Alice Vansittart Comyns Carr (née Strettell; 1 January 1850 – 11 October 1927), was a British costume designer for theatre, whose work is associated with the Aesthetic dress movement. Early life and family Alice Laura Vansittart Strettell w ...

on board as a consultant. Harris and Carr worked together until 1887, but their tastes differed, with Carr favouring simpler, more flowing designs in the Aesthetic dress style. Their disagreements reached a head in 1887 over designs for the plays ''

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

'' and ''The Amber Heart'', and Harris resigned. Carr succeeded her as Terry's head costume designer. Harris's mother operated her costume business under the name "Madame Auguste" and supplied costumes to, among others, the

D'Oyly Carte Opera Company The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company is a professional British light opera company that, from the 1870s until 1982, staged Gilbert and Sullivan's Savoy operas nearly year-round in the UK and sometimes toured in Europe, North America and elsewhere. The ...

in the 1880s. Under the same name, Harris supplied costumes to D'Oyly Carte for seven productions from 1892 to 2001.Theatre programmes,

Savoy Theatre The Savoy Theatre is a West End theatre in the Strand in the City of Westminster, London, England. The theatre was designed by C. J. Phipps for Richard D'Oyly Carte and opened on 10 October 1881 on a site previously occupied by the Savoy ...

, London, for ''

Haddon Hall Haddon Hall is an English country house on the River Wye, Derbyshire, River Wye near Bakewell, Derbyshire, a former seat of the Duke of Rutland, Dukes of Rutland. It is the home of Lord Edward Manners (brother of David Manners, 11th Duke of Rut ...

'' (1892), ''

Utopia, Limited ''Utopia, Limited; or, The Flowers of Progress'', is a Savoy opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It was the second-to-last of Gilbert and Sullivan's fourteen collaborations, premiering on 7 October 1893 for a ...

'' (1893), ''

The Chieftain ''The Chieftain'' is a two-act comic opera by Arthur Sullivan and Francis Cowley Burnand, F. C. Burnand based on their 1867 opera, ''The Contrabandista''. It consists of substantially the same first act as the 1867 work with a completely new se ...

'' (1895), ''

The Grand Duke ''The Grand Duke; or, The Statutory Duel'', is the final Savoy Opera written by librettist W. S. Gilbert and composer Arthur Sullivan, their fourteenth and last opera together. It premiered at the Savoy Theatre on 7 March 1896, and ran for 12 ...

'' (1896), ''

H.M.S. Pinafore ''H.M.S. Pinafore; or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It opened at the Opera Comique in London on 25 May 1878, and ran for 571 performances, w ...

'' (revival 1899), ''

The Rose of Persia ''The Rose of Persia''; ''or, The Story-Teller and the Slave'', is a two-act comic opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by Basil Hood. It premiered at the Savoy Theatre on 29 November 1899, closing on 28 June 1900 after a profitab ...

'' (1899) and ''

The Emerald Isle ''The Emerald Isle''; ''or, The Caves of Carrig-Cleena'', is a two-act comic opera, with music by Arthur Sullivan and Edward German, and a libretto by Basil Hood. The plot concerns the efforts of an Irish patriot to resist the oppressive "re- ...

'' (1901) At the time of her death she was working under the company name Auguste et Cie. Costumes bearing this label were worn by both Terry and the actor–manager

Henry Irving Sir Henry Irving (6 February 1838 – 13 October 1905), christened John Henry Brodribb, sometimes known as J. H. Irving, was an English stage actor in the Victorian era, known as an actor-manager because he took complete responsibility ( ...

. The circumstances of Harris's death provoked an inquest, and it was suggested that she may have died of alcoholism.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Patience Glossop 1857 births 1901 deaths British costume designers Place of birth missing Place of death missing British women costume designers