Scope and arrangement
The Lucia Wayne photographs, dating from 1968 to 1988, incorporate her and other photographers' prints of ballet dancers, ballet companies, and choreographers. There are also some prints of figure skaters, performers, a bookshop, and a theater. Annotations identifying the photographer and subject appear on the back of most prints. The annotations sporadically cover dates and ballet titles.
The photographs are arranged alphabetically by individual or dance company.
The majority of the photographs are black-and-white and color prints taken by W. J. Reilly and Louis Péres, with some by Myra Armstrong, Judy Cameron, Beverley Gallegos, David Daniel, J. L. Vartoogian, Walter Healy, and Dina Makarova. The photographs depict ballet dancers and choreographers on stage or in the studio during rehearsals and performances. There are some headshots interfiled with the more dynamic promotional shots. Ballet dancers, ballet companies, and choreographers depicted in the photographs include New York City Ballet, Stuttgart Ballet, Natalia Makarova, Erik Bruhn, Richard Cragun, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Paris Opera Ballet, Ivan Nagy, John Clifford, Gelsey Kirkland, Loretta Young, the Royal Ballet, Kay Mazzo, Alicia Alonso, Peter Martins, John Prinz, Violette Verdy, Egon Madsen, Paolo Bortoluzzi, Royes Fernandez, Niels Kehlet, Cynthia Gregory, Fernando Bujones, Margot Fonteyn, and John Cranko.
Wayne's photographs constitute candid color prints of the New York City Ballet, Stuttgart Ballet, Natalia Makarova, and Erik Bruhn. Her candids represent ballet dancers in dressing rooms, hallways, or during social events. Wayne and the other photographers' prints are interfiled.
The collection also holds photographs of dance-adjacent individuals and locations. W. J. Reilly took most of these photographs. The prints feature British ice dancers Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean; American figure skater and ballet dancer Katherine Healy; a theater interior; a bookshop with a dance display; Wayne; David Daniel; and Russian-American impresario Sol Hurok. Wayne retained a few picture postcards addressed to her from Reilly with Reilly's photographs on the picture side.