A 1978 Pageant of the Masters recreation of the Egyptian Temple of Ramses at Abu Simbel. Don and Doug Williamson designed and built the set. What a magnificent job they did!
This monumental sculpture is also a part of 2014 Pageant line-up.
Apropos of this year’s theme ‘the Art Detective’, Technical Director/Designer Richard Hill and Archivist and Scenic Painter Sharon Lamberg “discovered” the photo in our computer files. Sharon has scanned thousands of images from the Pageant’s history, including rehearsal shots and candids. Finding this vintage image of the Temple of Ramses at Abu Simbel was a real surprise as it is highly unusual for a rehearsal photo to be taken in the daylight.
This image gave us several clues as to how the set was built in ’78. It was also very helpful to Richard Hill (as there were no blueprints left by the Williamsons) who’s responsibility it is to make the technical drawings for the staff.