Concept and creative process
The golden age of society portraits from Van Dyck to Augustus John was the subject of a 1992 exhibition at the Tate gallery in London. ‘The Swagger Portrait’ was a one-off compilation programme made from a series of short films, first shown in October of that year. For the title sequence, designers Steve Bonnett and Keith Haynes recreated a society portrait studio sitting with an actor, in costume and wig, striking a pose. The elegant programme logo with its calligraphic cartouche reinforced the idea of the portrait in the grand manner.