Yorkshire Post photographer, Tony Johnson caught up with the exhibition curator Eli Dawson to get a first look at the iconic ‘wet shirt’ worn by Colin Firth in the BBC adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, which will be on public display in Halifax, West Yorkshire, from Saturday 25 May 2024.
During Calderdale’s Year of Culture 2024 (CultureDale), fans of the famous lake scene will be able to get up close to the shirt and the rest of the outfit worn by Colin Firth as Mr Darcy. It will be on show for free at Bankfield Museum in Halifax until Tuesday 24 December 2024.
The classic 1995 TV scene saw Mr Darcy dive into a lake and emerge with his shirt wet and clinging to him, only to be unexpectedly confronted by Elizabeth Bennet, who had rejected his marriage proposal. The scene has been voted by many as their favourite and most memorable TV moment of all time.
Calderdale Council successfully bid for the shirt, and other costumes from significant moments in TV and film history, at a London auction by Cosprop in March 2024 which raised money for arts education charity, the Bright Foundation.
The shirt is accompanied by other key items from Mr Darcy’s outfit, including the breeches, coat, waistcoat and cravat – all on display in Bankfield Museum’s accessible Oak Gallery on the ground floor.
The other items bought at the auction are due to go on display in a new exhibition in 2025, based around costume in TV and film. They include the Gentleman Jack outfit worn by Suranne Jones, the yellow pelisse from the 2020 film adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma, two outfits from Downton Abbey, and the King and Queen’s outfits from The King’s Speech. There will also be opportunities for learning and skills development linked to textiles and the making of the costumes.
Bankfield Museum is free to visit, from Tuesday to Saturday, 10am - 4pm.
During Calderdale’s Year of Culture 2024 (CultureDale), fans of the famous lake scene will be able to get up close to the shirt and the rest of the outfit worn by Colin Firth as Mr Darcy. It will be on show for free at Bankfield Museum in Halifax until Tuesday 24 December 2024.
The classic 1995 TV scene saw Mr Darcy dive into a lake and emerge with his shirt wet and clinging to him, only to be unexpectedly confronted by Elizabeth Bennet, who had rejected his marriage proposal. The scene has been voted by many as their favourite and most memorable TV moment of all time.
Calderdale Council successfully bid for the shirt, and other costumes from significant moments in TV and film history, at a London auction by Cosprop in March 2024 which raised money for arts education charity, the Bright Foundation.
The shirt is accompanied by other key items from Mr Darcy’s outfit, including the breeches, coat, waistcoat and cravat – all on display in Bankfield Museum’s accessible Oak Gallery on the ground floor.
The other items bought at the auction are due to go on display in a new exhibition in 2025, based around costume in TV and film. They include the Gentleman Jack outfit worn by Suranne Jones, the yellow pelisse from the 2020 film adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma, two outfits from Downton Abbey, and the King and Queen’s outfits from The King’s Speech. There will also be opportunities for learning and skills development linked to textiles and the making of the costumes.
Bankfield Museum is free to visit, from Tuesday to Saturday, 10am - 4pm.
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NewsTranscript
00:00 My name is Eli Dawson and I'm a curator for the Colordale Museum Service.
00:04 Can you just tell us about this piece?
00:06 This is one of the most recent acquisitions by Bamfylde Museum and this is probably one of the most exciting things the museum has ever acquired.
00:14 It's probably one of the most famous white shirts in television history.
00:19 It's a shirt worn by Colin Firth when playing Fitzwilliam Darcy in the 1995 BBC adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.
00:28 It features in one of the most iconic scenes in the film, though not actually in the original book,
00:34 when Mr Darcy emerges from the lake clad only in his breeches and in his white shirt and unexpectedly runs into Elizabeth Bennet.
00:44 This has become one of the most iconic scenes in television history.
00:48 For a whole generation of women and men it made Colin Firth an incredibly important sex symbol.
00:57 This shirt is a real piece of television history and we're delighted to have acquired it for the museum collection.
01:03 This shirt is now itself a piece of history. It's from 1995, which is 30 years ago.
01:09 Bamfylde Museum collects fashion history from throughout the ages and this shirt being such an iconic piece,
01:17 we felt it was something that would make a wonderful addition to our collection and we've got a huge amount of interest from the general public.
01:25 It was bought from Cosprop, who are the company who makes the original costumes for the Pride and Prejudice series.
01:32 After the end of the series it was returned to Cosprop but it was loaned out to various organisations over the years.
01:40 In 2024 this and a huge number of other costumes from television history were put up for sale by Cosprop.
01:48 Bamfylde Museum were lucky enough to acquire this along with a number of other costumes.
01:55 The shirt plus the other items that Mr Darcy wore, so his breeches, his coat, his cravat, cost £25,000 in total.
02:05 That money was taken from an art fund which was dedicated for purchases for the museum collection.
02:12 It was taken from requests and donations to the museum.
02:16 The whole of that £25,000 has gone to charity.
02:20 The shirt is going to be unveiled here at Bamfylde Museum on Saturday 25th May.
02:26 It's going to be likely on permanent display here at the museum, certainly for the next couple of years or so.