Ballet Foundation collection of Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo and Ballet Theatre photographs

1920s-1980s

The Ballet Foundation collection of Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo and Ballet Theatre photographs documents the foundation's support of the ballet companies. The collection spans the 1920s to 1980s and mainly consists of negatives, proofs, black-and-white prints with some color prints, contact sheets, posters, mounted prints, a few slides, photo postcards, and lists of ballets and dancers. The bulk of the collection is composed of unlabeled negatives, dating from the 1940s to 1960s. The negatives appear to have been created by the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo and Ballet Theatre for production programs or publicity purposes. A small portion of the collection consists of Sergei Denham's personal photographs and art that depicts his family life and work as the director of the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo.

The professional performance, rehearsal, and headshot photographs in the collection contain images of the companies and creative teams of the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo and Ballet Theatre posing in costume and getting ready backstage during rehearsals and performances. There are some headshots interfiled with the more dynamic shots. This group mainly consists of negatives and proofs with some black-and-white prints and slides dating from the 1940s to 1950s. The back sides of some of the proofs contain inscriptions that identify performers and production titles. Some proofs are filed with lists that identify the ballets and dancers which appear in the proofs and negatives. Approximately a quarter of this material was shot by dance photographer Maurice Seymour. Of note are black-and-white prints of dancers -- Ruthanna Boris, Nina Stroganova, Mary Ellen Moylan -- and a signed portrait of Agnes de Mille.

Social events and school photographs illustrate events attended by the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo's company and creative team, as well as images of children taking class at the company's school. Present in the collection are black-and-white prints from 1959 of company members performing at the St. Regis hotel for a party, as well as prints of the company in front of Pan American Airlines planes in the 1960s. The photographs include prints of the studio spaces used by the company as well as prints of drawings of the school's buildings dating from the 1950s to 1960s.

Sergei Denham's personal photographs and art chronicles Denham's private life and work as the director of the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. This material mainly contains candid prints of Denham's family life and colleagues. There are a couple folders of prints from fashion exhibitions from the 1930s and 1940s inspired by ballet costumes used by Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. There are also some signed portraits dedicated to Denham from colleagues and friends from the 1930s to 1970s and images of art that inspired the backdrops for some of the company's ballets.

Various modern and ballet dancers consist of mounted and unmounted prints dating from 1939 to the 1980s. These prints were physically separated from the other material with no indication that they were part of the Ballet Foundation donation. While some of the mounted and unmounted prints have inscriptions that identify dancers appearing on the print, most are unidentified. Some of the identified dancers are Martha Graham, Margot Parsons, and Ethel Winter. All unmounted prints were photographed by Zachary Freyman. The source of acquisition for this grouping is unknown.