Suzanne Steele celebrity print 1976
Maker unknown
Registration number
1809804
Artist/maker
Maker unknown
Title
Suzanne Steele celebrity print
Production date
1976
Medium
concrete, brass
Dimensions (H x W x D)
Top section: 19.5 x 22 x 8.5 cm, bottom section: 43 x 22.5 x 7 cm
Inscriptions
SUZANNE STEELE / STAR OF OPERA & MUSICAL COMEDY / LEFT HER IMPRINT HERE ON / 9-1-76
Credit line
City of Melbourne Art and Heritage Collection
Keywords
Summary
This concrete handprint was formerly located as a part of the iconic McEwans celebrity pavement. Between 1972 and 1994, scores of celebrities had their handprints and footprints immortalised in cement at the entrance to the McEwans hardware store on Bourke Street. The City of Melbourne Art and Heritage Collection acquired a number of these impressed concrete slabs from the original celebrity pavement in 2005.
"Suzanne Steele (1931-1986) was an opera singer. English-born, she first toured Australia in 1963 with the Sadlers Wells Opera Company, of which she was principal soprano. She returned in 1967 with ‘Man of La Mancha’ and stayed on to become a regular on Australian TV and stage, singing not just opera but musical comedy and popular hits. She appeared in many outdoor performances at the Myer Music Bowl." - Robyn Annear, 2023