Here! What are you Sniggering at?

Audrey Hepburn as Eliza Doolittle from the 1961 Musical “My Fair Lady”.

Audrey Hepburn, one the most recognizable screen actresses of the 20th Century whose style defined an era and continues to inspire fashion, art, and design today. She is portrayed here in her starring role as Eliza Doolittle from the Hollywood musical "My Fair Lady" as she makes an appearance at Ascot horse races.

In this Cinderella-like tale of social mobility, Eliza is a spirited young cockney flower-seller plucked from the streets of Edwardian-era London by Henry Higgins, a professor of Phonetics who claims to his peers that he can take a common girl, change her accent and teach her correct pronunciation to pass her off as a Duchess at an embassy ball. After a lengthy period of intense elocution training to the point of almost giving up, Eliza begins to speak with an impeccable upper-class accent. Elated by this breakthrough, Higgins takes Eliza to Ascot races where she perplexes everyone with her unusual combination of perfect accented English with common diction. Things take a turn for the worst when she briefly lapses back into her natural way of speaking when cheering on a horse.

Eliza's efforts throughout the experiment are barely acknowledged by Higgins who eventually wins his bet after Eliza successfully attends the embassy ball. Disappointed and angered by his callous attitude, Eliza leaves Higgins' household and tries to return to her former life only to find that she has changed and struggles to fit in. Meanwhile, Higgins reflects upon recent events and comes to regret his behaviour towards Eliza, realizing how empty his life has become in her absence. However, things end happily when the pair reunite and presumably start a life together.

Of all of Hepburn's on-screen appearances, the My Fair Lady Ascot scene is, in my view, one of her most entertaining and memorable. Her fabulous white dress, trimmed with black and the outrageously oversized hat is in some ways a gentle send-up of the flamboyance seen at Ascot races while Eliza's elegance as a well-spoken upper-class lady is hilariously juxtaposed by the cockney vernacular spewed out in conversation.

"Well if I was doing it proper, then what was you sniggering at?"

Title:                            “Here! What are you Sniggering at?”
Medium:                      Digital Painting on MacBook Pro using Sketchbook.
Completed:               30th January 2024.
Artist:                           Stuart Carrol.

Source: Frame from Youtube (time 5:57): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3m8rcEY5hU