Born in Dunfermline, Moira Shearer was a renowned ballerina at Covent Garden who was persuaded to perform in film. Her performances in the classic ballet productions of Powell & Pressburger’s “The Tales of Hoffmann” & “The Red Shoes” are still regarded as some of the most popular ballet films.

The Tales of Hoffmann had its Royal Premiere, attended by Queen Mary, on the 18th of April 1951 at the Carlton Cinema in London.

Their international success helped sell tickets for the Sadlers Wells Ballet company when they performed across America, and Shearer appeared on Ed Sullivan’s show “Toast of the Town” to promote the tour.

Shearer’s other films include “The Story of Three Loves”, “The Man who Loved Redheads”, and Powell’s then-controversial, now-cult “Peeping Tom”.

On TV, Shearer was part of “This is Scotland”, the opening night variety programme to launch the new channel of Scottish TV. Broadcast live, the show aired on the 31st of August 1957 and included Alastair Sim, Jimmy Logan, Stanley Baxter, David Niven, Andrew Keir, & her husband Ludovic Kennedy.

Shearer was the host of the Eurovision Song Contest in 1972 when it was staged at Usher Hall in Edinburgh.

An official collaboration with Studiocanal, this print is part of the Scottish Cinema pop art collection, featuring Art & Hue’s signature halftone style (halftone is an age-old technique that uses dots to make up the printed image, similar to newspapers or comic books).