‘Lady Anya Sainsbury’s love of theatre design inspired her to create the Linbury Prize. It is a unique and amazing platform, a beacon of opportunity for new design talent. The generations of designers that have been involved are a testament to the singular brilliant vision of its creator.’
Anthony Ward
Designer and 1987 Linbury Prize finalist​
Portrait of Anya Linden by Cecil Beaton, copyright Condé Nast Ltd - Cecil Beaton / Trunk Archive
Lady Anya Sainsbury
​​Lady Anya Sainsbury was born Ann Eltenton in Manchester in 1933. Shortly afterwards, her family moved to Leningrad, where their Russian neighbours called the baby ‘Anya’ and the name stuck. As the political climate changed, the family moved to Berkeley, USA, where they lived throughout World War II, before returning to Britain in 1947.
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Having learnt Russian folk dances as a toddler, Anya started ballet lessons at the age of eight in California. Upon their return to the UK, Anya was accepted into the Sadler’s Wells Ballet School. She graduated into the Sadler’s Wells Ballet (later the Royal Ballet) in 1951 and, under the stage name of Anya Linden, became a soloist in 1954. She was awarded the formal accolade of ‘ballerina’ in 1958.
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​At the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, Anya would dance all the great classical roles of Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty and Giselle as well as many more avant-garde works. She would also perform on stages all over the world, including the Metropolitan Opera in New York and, of special personal significance, the Kirov in Leningrad and the Bolshoi in Moscow.
​Lady Anya Sainsbury’s remarkable contribution, both personally and financially, to the arts was recognised by a CBE in 2003. Now in her nineties, she shows little sign of slowing down.
Stuart Hobley, Chair of the Linbury Trust, has said of working with her. ‘Whenever we’re looking at a project we might be able to support, Anya always asks the same question. “So, what more could we do?” She is remarkable. She is the heart and soul of the Linbury.’
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She married John Sainsbury in 1963 and eventually retired from dancing to raise her three children. In the next decades, Anya and John would together become major philanthropists to the arts in Britain, through the founding of the Linbury Trust - a portmanteau title derived from ‘Linden’ and ‘Sainsbury’.
​After leaving the stage, Anya, also a talented painter, studied at the Slade School of Fine Art in London under the eminent designer Nicholas Georgiadis. In her ballet career, she had developed a strong, practical interest in stage design. This interest, coupled with her passion for supporting the arts, would eventually lead to the establishment of the Linbury Prize for Stage Design in 1987.​
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Background image: Anya Linden in the role of The Girl in Kenneth MacMillan’s ballet Solitaire, with dancers of The Royal Ballet Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London, UK; 1958. Choreography by Kenneth MacMillan, designed by Desmond Heeley, photo by Roger Wood. Copyright: Roger Wood/Royal Opera House/ArenaPAL; arenapal.com
Portrait of Anya Linden by Antony Armstrong-Jones , copyright Snowdon / Trunk Archive
Lord Sainsbury and Lady Anya, 2017 Linbury Prize exhibition,
photograph by Sheila Burnett
Lady Anya Sainsbury, 2019 Linbury Prize exhibition,
photograph by Stephanie Claire