- unitid
-
{"value"=>"19868", "type"=>"local_mss"}
{"value"=>"*MGZMD 148", "type"=>"local_call"}
{"value"=>"b22733237", "type"=>"local_b"}
- unitdate
-
{"value"=>"1920-1993", "type"=>"inclusive", "normal"=>"1920/1993"}
{"value"=>"1952-1986", "type"=>"bulk", "normal"=>"1952/1986"}
- unittitle
-
{"value"=>"Rouben Ter-Arutunian design portfolios"}
- physdesc
-
{"format"=>"structured", "physdesc_components"=>[{"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"186 boxes, 120 oversize folders", "unit"=>"containers"}, {"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"68.22 linear feet", "unit"=>"linear_feet"}]}
- repository
-
{"value"=>"<span class=\"corpname\">Jerome Robbins Dance Division</span>"}
- abstract
-
{"value"=>"Rouben Ter-Arutunian (1920-1992) was a scenic and costume designer best known for his long association with the New York City Ballet. The design portfolios are a comprehensive reflection of the artist's prolific forty-year career designing for theater, ballet, dance, opera, television, and motion picture productions. The portfolios are made up of materials mostly gathered together under a production's title and contain set and costume designs; set models; press material; photographs; design notes; technical drawings; business documentation; correspondence; and research and reference material."}
- langmaterial
-
{"value"=>"Multiple languages"}
{"value"=>"English, French, German, Georgian, Russian"}
- origination
-
{"value"=>"Ter-Arutunian, Rouben, 1920-1992", "type"=>"persname", "role"=>"cre"}
- bioghist
-
{"value"=>"<p>Rouben Ter-Arutunian was a scenic and costume designer for ballet, dance, opera, theater, film, and television productions. Ter-Arutunian was born July 20, 1920 in Tbilisi, Georgia of Armenian parentage. His parents immigrated to Paris during his early childhood, then to Berlin when he was seven years old. His mother, a homemaker, was described as being both artistic and adept at homemade crafts while his father was a cosmetics importer. Ter-Arutunian frequently made drawings as a child, particularly aware of people's clothing and dress.</p> <p>In 1936, a teenaged Ter-Arutunian was significantly moved by viewing his first performance of the Ballets Russes de Monte-Carlo and he frequently revisited the theater for multiple viewings. The visual impact of the set designs eventually led Ter-Arutunian to study art and design at the Schule Reimann, a private art school in Berlin which he attended for two years. In art school, he studied drawing, painting, and life studies among other art classes from 1939 to 1941, but as the Nazi party rose to power in Germany, the school fell into decline as it was deemed \"too modern.\"</p> <p>In 1940, while designing for personal friends, he received his first professional commissions including costumes for the Staatsoper Berlin. Shortly thereafter in 1942, Ter-Arutunian designed for his first opera production after having a serendipitous meeting with a set designer from the Dresden Opera. He invited Ter-Arutunian to design the costumes for a production of <span class=\"title\">The Bartered Bride</span> in Dresden which then led him to design for <span class=\"title\">Salome</span> in 1944 at the Vienna State Opera.</p> <p>After living in Paris for a brief time, Ter-Arutunian moved to New York City in 1951, and became an American citizen in 1957. His first commissions in America were for the jewelry company Harry Winston where he designed heavy, elaborate, and exotic designs. He was also commissioned to design window displays for department stores in both Brooklyn and Manhattan. Ter-Artunian was then hired by CBS, where he designed for numerous TV specials, most notably the scenery, costumes, and masks for <span class=\"title\">Noah and the Flood</span>, a work created by composer Igor Stravinsky and choreographer George Balanchine that received its premiere in 1962. He eventually moved to NBC where he was art director for operas, theater works, and special entertainment programs.</p> <p>Ter-Arutunian made his Broadway debut with designs for the musical <span class=\"title\">New Girl in Town</span> in 1957 starring Gwen Verdon. Among his other Broadway productions were <span class=\"title\">Who Was That Lady I Saw You With?</span>, <span class=\"title\">Redhead</span>, <span class=\"title\">Advise and Consent</span>, <span class=\"title\">The Deputy</span>, and <span class=\"title\">The Lady From the Sea</span>. He won the 1959 Tony Award for Best Costume Design for the musical <span class=\"title\">Redhead</span>, and was nominated for Tony Awards three times for Scenic Design and once more for Costume Design.</p> <p>Ter-Arutunian is best known for his twenty-seven years long career working with the New York City Ballet. At the behest of Lincoln Kirstein, he was commissioned to create scenery for a double bill of <span class=\"title\">Bluebeard's Castle</span> and <span class=\"title\">L'heure Espagnole</span> at the New York City Opera in 1952. His collaboration with Kirstein led him to work with ballet choreographer George Balanchine. Ter-Arutunian became most famous for the set design and lighting for Balanchine's <span class=\"title\">The Nutcracker</span> with costumes by Barbara Karinska, which are still used today. Among the many other ballets he designed were <span class=\"title\">Seven Deadly Sins</span>, <span class=\"title\">Swan Lake</span>, <span class=\"title\">Souvenir</span>, <span class=\"title\">Harlequinade</span>, <span class=\"title\">Coppélia</span>, <span class=\"title\">Union Jack</span>, <span class=\"title\">Robert Schumann's Davidsbündlertänze</span>, <span class=\"title\">Ballet Imperial</span>, and <span class=\"title\">Mozartiana</span>.</p> <p>Aside from ballet, Ter-Arutunian also worked extensively with modern choreographers in the mid-twentieth century. He designed sets and costumes for Martha Graham's <span class=\"title\">Visionary Recital</span> in 1961 and Glen Tetley's <span class=\"title\">Pierrot Lunaire</span> (1962), <span class=\"title\">Sargasso</span> (1965) and <span class=\"title\">Ricercare</span> (1966), among other productions.</p> <p>Ter-Arutunian worked for many other operatic organizations which included San Francisco Opera, Hamburg State Opera, La Scala in Milan, Opéra-Comique in Paris, and the Spoleto Festival in Italy. He also designed for American Ballet Theatre, Harkness Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, and Paul Taylor Dance Company.</p> <p>In the 1970s and 1980s, Ter-Arutunian's costume and set designs were exhibited in galleries, museums, and libraries. Ter-Arutunian died at the age of 72 on October 17, 1992, in New York City.</p>"}
- scopecontent
-
{"value"=>"<p>The Rouben Ter-Arutunian design portfolios are a comprehensive reflection of the artist's prolific forty-year career designing for theater, ballet, dance, opera, television, and motion picture productions around the world. The collection is made up predominantly of two-dimensional artwork, but also includes three-dimensional objects. The portfolios were assembled by Ter-Arutunian and remain as he envisioned them with all manners of different, but related, materials mostly gathered together under a production's title. Ter-Arutunian's proliferant artistic output is epitomized by the sheer volume of his collection that includes approximately 7,000 designs of scenery, costumes, and artwork, with over 1,000 designs for New York City Ballet productions. In addition, for most productions, there are complete technical drawings and stage plans, notes, photographs, programs, reviews, posters, and models.</p> <p>There are also examples of Ter-Artunian's earliest work produced in Berlin and Paris, prior to his immigration to the United States in 1951, and illustrates his diverse career as a designer for advertising, jewelry, opera, dance, and theater. Ter-Arutunian's most enduring client was New York City Ballet for which he designed sets and costumes for some of George Balanchine's most significant ballets particularly <span class=\"title\">The Nutcracker</span>. The collection also includes designs from his decades-long collaborations with many directors, choreographers, performing artists, and composers including Tony Richardson, Gian Carlo Menotti, Glen Tetley, Robert Joffrey, Marlene Dietrich, Hans Werner Henze, and Igor Stravinsky.</p> <p>Ter-Arutunian was also known for his unconventional use of common craft and household materials to articulate his creative vision in his set designs and models. He regularly used colorful and textural materials such as paper doilies, wooden dowels, metallic paper, cardboard, balsa wood, string, cellophane tape, and tissue paper. These visual elements can be found throughout the entire collection of portfolios particulary the set models, model pieces, and drop designs.</p> <p>The portfolios were arranged by Ter-Arutunian into broad categories of the performing arts: drama, musicals, opera (including individual companies), television, motion pictures, dance (including individual choreographers and companies, with a large portion devoted to New York City Ballet), individual cities (Berlin, Paris, New York), and some personal and school work.</p> <p>The collection is arranged into ten Series that are arranged alphabetically by production title or subject. Design elements for individual titles sometimes appear in more than one portfolio as the designer would repurpose designs for later productions.</p> <p>Each design portfolio contains a wide breadth of material that consists of (but is not limited to) preliminary set sketches; scenic designs; costume designs and fabric swatches; set models and pieces; press and advertising material; photographs; production and design notes; technical drawings and stage plans; business documentation; correspondence; and research and reference material. Select productions also hold costumes and fully realized set props used in past productions.</p> <p>The dimensions for set models and other 3-D objects are measured length by width by height.</p>"}
{"value"=>"<p class='list-head'>The Rouben Ter-Arutunian design portfolios are arranged in ten series:</p>\n<ul class='arrangement series-descriptions'>\n<li><div class='series-title'><a href='/dan/19868#c1682048'>Series I: Drama</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1956-1985</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>Series I encompasses the design portfolios for plays and dramatic theater performances dating from the mid-1950s through the mid-1980s. This series covers Broadway performances, festivals, and European productions. The series is arranged alphabetically by production title.</p> <p>There is a significant amount of material created for the American Shakespeare Festival which Ter-Arutunian participated in from 1956 to 1961. Numerous design are included for the productions of <span class=\"title\">Twelfth Night</span>, <span class=\"title\">Antony and Cleopatra</span>, <span class=\"title\">The Merchant of Venice</span>, and <span class=\"title\">Much Ado About Nothing</span>.</p> <p>Also present is a large quantity of design documentation for the play <span class=\"title\">Arturo Ui</span> (1963), an allegorical and satirical play written by Bertolt Brecht about the rise of Hitler and the Nazi party. For this production, Ter-Arutunian received a Tony nomination for Best Costume Design.</p> <p>Another production of particular significance is the Greek tragedy <span class=\"title\">Medea</span> from 1966 which starred Italian actress Anna Magnani and premiered in Rome. The portfolios includes photographs; ephemera; costume designs specifically made for Magnani; and a three-dimensional set model depicting fire.</p> <p>Types of materials that appear frequently throughout the Series are set and costume designs; photographs; theater plans; technical drawings; set models and set model pieces; correspondence and notes; and fabric swatches.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/dan/19868#c1682106'>Series II: Musicals</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1950-1979</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>Series II comprises the design portfolios for musical theater productions from 1950 through 1979. The files are arranged alphabetically by production title.</p> <p>The portfolios include a plethora of material for Ter-Arutunian's Broadway debut, George Abbott's 1957 hit, <span class=\"title\">New Girl in Town</span>, starring Gwen Verdon. These files include set designs; a set model and set pieces; costume designs; publicity posters; programs; wallpaper and drop designs; and technical drawings.</p> <p>Also of note are the costume designs for <span class=\"title\">Redhead</span> from 1959 (also starring Gwen Verdon), which earned Ter-Arutunian his first Tony Award for Best Costume Design.</p> <p>The designs for <span class=\"title\">Hot Spot</span> (1962) also feature two detailed set models encased in plexiglass boxes depicting a kitchen and a room interior.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/dan/19868#c1682122'>Series III: Operas</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1943-1986</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>Series III consists of design portfolios for operatic works dating from 1968 through 1983, primarily of productions in the United States and across Europe. The files are arranged alphabetically by production title or company.</p> <p><span class=\"title\">Four Saints in Three Acts</span> (1986) represents a significant portion of the Series and includes a wide spectrum of material. The porfolio's inclusion of costumes and fully realized set pieces distinguishes it from others. The costumes include halo design mock-ups, white robes, and two dresses worn by actresses Cassandra Hayes and Lila Ammons. The fully realized set pieces include a large sculpture constructed of rubber gloves attached to a wooden structure, and four sculptures constructed of toothbrushes embedded in acrylic and plexiglass.</p> <p>Another highlight are designs for <span class=\"title\">Hansel and Gretel</span> (1953) which was one of Ter-Arutunian's earliest operas produced in the United States. Of note are two set models, one of which depicts the exterior of the witch's infamous gingerbread-laden house, while the other depicts the kitchen interior of the house.</p> <p>Ter-Arutunian designed scenery and costumes for a newly conceived choregraphy of <span class=\"title\">Orpheus</span> by George Balanchine in 1963. The portfolios hold several framed two-dimensional scenic designs as well as a framed set of four costumes depicting Eurydice, Orpheus, the Furies, and the Spirits.</p> <p>There are several portfolios dedicated to Ter-Arutunian's work for the Santa Fe Opera including extensive designs and set models for <span class=\"title\">Der Liebe de Danae</span> (1982-1983) and <span class=\"title\">The Devils of Loudun</span> (1969).</p> <p>This Series also features designs created for the Spoleto Festival which was founded by composer and collaborator Gian Carlo Menotti in Spoleto, Italy. Ter-Arutunian created designs for the inaugural festival in 1958 and subsequently in 1966 and 1970.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/dan/19868#c1682212'>Series IV: Television</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1950-1977</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>Series IV details some of the earliest costume and set design work that Ter-Arutunian created for major broadcast events and episodic television programs dating from 1950 through 1977.</p> <p>Most of the designs created were for productions that aired on CBS and NBC. His designs for NBC include those for the NBC Opera Theatre from 1954 to 1955 and the Bell Telephone Hour. Between 1958 and 1966, Ter-Arutunian produced set and costume designs for nine Bell Telephone Hour productions including specials featuring Harry Belafonte (1958) and Balanchine's <span class=\"title\">Stars and Stripes</span> and <span class=\"title\">Souvenirs</span> (1959).</p> <p>Of note are his designs for <span class=\"title\">Twelfth Night</span> which earned him an Emmy Award for Best Art Direction in 1957. There are several files pertaining to the production of Balanchine's <span class=\"title\">Noah and the Flood</span> that was produced by and aired on CBS-TV. These contain production notes; fabric swatches; music scores; blueprints; and sketches of composer Igor Stravinsky.</p> <p>Other noteworthy productions are Marlene Dietrich's 1972 special <span class=\"title\">I Wish You Love</span> which includes sketches of the actress by fashion illustrator René Bouché; designs made for a special telecast to introduce and advertise RCA's new 21\" color television called <span class=\"title\">21\" Color Tube</span>; and production designs for <span class=\"title\">Swing Into Spring!</span>, a music showcase featuring Benny Goodman and his orchestra, Peggy Lee, Ella Fitzgerald, Lionel Hampton, and The Hi-Los among several other performers.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/dan/19868#c1682251'>Series V: Motion Pictures</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1965-1992</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>Series V chronicles Ter-Arutunian's design contributions to cinema. The most notable designs are for the 1993 motion picture production of <span class=\"title\">The Nutcracker</span> which starred Macaulay Culkin and principal dancers from the New York City Ballet. Ter-Arutunian modified the original designs from New York City Ballet's production of <span class=\"title\">The Nutcracker</span> to form the basis of the film's scenery.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/dan/19868#c1682256'>Series VI: Dance</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1940-1991</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>This Series comprises design portfolios for dance productions and events from 1940 through 1988 and are arranged alphabetically by production title or, in a few cases, company name.</p> <p>There are five subseries that cover Ter-Arutunian's frequent collaborations with choreographers and companies such as Glen Tetley, Joffrey Ballet, John Butler, Makarova and Company, and New York City Ballet.</p> <p>The remaining portfolios represent productions performed by a variety of companies including Paul Taylor Dance Company, San Francisco Ballet, Dance Theatre of Harlem, American Ballet Theatre, and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater among many others.</p> <p>Materials that frequently reappear in each portfolio are set designs; photographs; costume designs; technical drawings; set models with corresponding pieces; production notes; fabric samples; and prop designs.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/dan/19868#c1682416'>Series VII: New York City Ballet Gallery</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1949-1991</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>This Series represents a selection of designs that Ter-Arutunian exhibited at the New York City Ballet Gallery from 1989 through 1992. Each file includes an inventory list with details of each design.</p> <p>Designs featured at the gallery are from: <span class=\"title\">Adagio Lamentoso</span>, <span class=\"title\">Ballet Imperial</span>, <span class=\"title\">Cortège Hongrois</span>, <span class=\"title\">Harlequinade</span>, <span class=\"title\">Song of the Nightingale</span>, <span class=\"title\">Souvenir of Florence</span>, <span class=\"title\">Tricolore</span>, and <span class=\"title\">Vienna Waltzes</span>.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/dan/19868#c1682423'>Series VIII: Supplementary Materials</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1953-1993</div>\n</li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/dan/19868#c1682430'>Series IX: Personal</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1920-1988</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>This Series contains personal artwork and drawings from overseas trips, as well as heirloom family photographs, collected press, and autobiographies written by Ter-Arutunian.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/dan/19868#c1682438'>Series X: Early Work</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1927-1986</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>This Series traces Ter-Arutunian's earliest artwork from childhood through his formative years at the Schule Reimann in Berlin, his brief stint in Paris, and his eventual immigration to New York City.</p> <p>His earliest commissioned set designs for productions of <span class=\"title\">The Bartered Bride</span> and <span class=\"title\">Salome</span> are filed under Berlin.</p> <p>The Paris files take account of Ter-Arutunian's brief time spent living and working in the French city which includes artwork made in his leisure time as well as designs for Ballets David Lichine and L'Opéra-Comique.</p> <p>The New York files detail Ter-Arutunian's early life in New York City, namely designing jewelry for Harry Winston and creating window displays for department stores.</p></div></li></ul>\n", "type"=>"arrangement"}
- acqinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p>Purchased by the Jerome Robbins Dance Division from Rouben Ter-Arutunian in 1989.</p> <p>In 1995, a framed scenic design from <span class=\"title\">Pelleas et Melisande</span> was gifted to the Jerome Robbins Dance Division by William Crawford.</p> <p>In 1996, a framed scenic design from <span class=\"title\">The Devils of Loudun</span> was gifted to the Jerome Robbins Dance Division by William Crawford.</p> <p>In 1990, five set pieces from <span class=\"title\">Four Saints in Three Acts</span> were donated to the Jerome Robbins Dance Division by the Opera Ensemble of New York.</p>"}
- processinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p>Processed by <span class=\"name\">Tara D. Strongosky</span> in <span class=\"date\">2019-2021</span>.</p> <p>The original arrangement conceived by Rouben Ter-Arutunian has been kept mostly intact, except where consolidation of related materials was necessary. Additionally, oversized and press materials were reabsorbed back into their most appropriate series, thus eliminating the need for separate ones. In some cases, the portfolios have been physically separated and arranged with other similarly sized materials for preservation purposes.</p> <p>In 2004, the collection was inventoried at item-level and yielded a finding aid with collection-level description that corresponds to Ter-Arutunian's original numbering system. This document is available as an additional resource for cross-referencing the collection.</p> <p>The numbering system conceived by Ter-Arutunian identifies individual items by a unique acronym. The acronym consists of the first several letters of a production title, or subject plus a sequential number. For example, items for <span class=\"title\">New Girl In Town</span> are identified by NEW-1, NEW-2, etc. Items for the American Shakespeare Festival are labeled as ASF-1, ASF-2, etc. Artwork by Ter-Arutunian that was not created for any particular production are identified as RTA-1, RTA-2, RTA-3, etc.</p> <p>This numbering system does not denote specific companies, choreographers, formats or any other information other than the production title or general subject.</p>"}
- relatedmaterial
-
{"value"=>"<p>The Rouben Ter-Arutunian papers, Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library, *MGZMD 277.</p> <p>The Rouben Ter-Arutunian papers contain personal and professional materials from his forty-year career as a designer. The collection holds address books, contracts, correspondence, datebooks, design files, exhibit materials, family papers, notebooks, photographs, scrapbooks, slides and writings.</p>"}
- date_start
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1920
- keydate
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1920
- date_end
-
1993
- date_inclusive_start
-
1920
- date_inclusive_end
-
1993
- date_bulk_start
-
1952
- date_bulk_end
-
1986
- extent_statement
-
68.22 linear feet (186 boxes, 120 oversize folders)
- prefercite
-
{"value"=>"Rouben Ter-Arutunian design portfolios, *MGZMD 148. Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts"}