E. Gordon Craig.

At age six, Edward Gordon Craig made his stage debut in Olivia, a play starring his mother, actress Ellen Terry. Born on 16 January 1872 in Hertfortshire, England, to Terry and architect Edward William Godwin, he was immersed in theatre from childhood. His godfather was Henry Irving. In 1885 he traveled to the United States and appeared in Eugene Aram in Chicago.

In 1897, Craig abandoned acting and turned to set design and authorship. He left England for Italy in 1903 and founded the School for the Art of the Theatre in Florence. He designed sets for dancer Isadora Duncan in the late 1900s. In 1910 he created the sets for the Moscow Art Theatre‘s production of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, directed by Konstantin Stanislavski. That collaboration influenced early 20th-century theatre. Craig also worked as a producer and authored books, including a 1931 biography of his mother, Ellen Terry and Her Secret Self.

Craig married Helen Mary Gibson in 1893. They had nine children: Deirdre, Edward Carrick, David Lees, Ellen Gordon, Philip Carlisle T., Rosemary Nell A., Henry Edward Robin, John P. R., and Peter M. Craig. He also had a son, Edward Carrick, with Elena Meo. His younger sister was actor and director Edith Craig. James Carew was his stepfather. In later life he lived in France, settling in Vence.

E. Gordon Craig transformed modern theatre design through abstract, symbolic sets. His work on the 1910 Moscow Art Theatre Hamlet influenced generations of stage designers. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire and later a Companion of Honour in the 1956 Queen’s Birthday Honours List. He also received the title Royal Designer for Industry. Craig’s writings and the School for the Art of the Theatre continue to be studied. He is remembered for dismantling naturalistic scenery and advocating for a unified artistic vision on stage.