[Rudolf Nureyev photographs]

1963-1993

Robert Burns Gable was born in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania in 1918. A lifelong dance enthusiast, he studied tap dancing and while a student at art school, performed as a clown and traveled with the Cole Brothers Circus. He graduated from the Philadelphia Museum of Art School, was a veteran of World War II and an artist by profession. Gable later relocated to New York. Gable saw Nureyev perform in most of his roles throughout his career and met him on numerous occasions. His collection of photographs, reviews and clippings is considered one of the most comprehensive collections on Rudolf Nureyev in the world. Gable died at the age of 89 in 2008. Over 1,700 photographs (black and white and color), primarily of dance performances and rehearsals, but also many informal photos and portraits of ballet dancer and choreographer Rudolf Nureyev, from his early U.S. performances in the 1960s, to an exhibition in Vienna in 1993, collected by Robert Burns Gable. Dance companies represented include the Royal Ballet, the Paris Opera Ballet, the National Ballet of Canada, the Australian Ballet, and the Martha Graham Dance Company. There are also several window cards, movie posters and programs for some of Nureyev's screen appearances, including Romeo and Juliet (1966), I am a dancer (1972), Valentino (1977), and Exposed (1983). Numerous photos include Dame Margot Fonteyn with Nureyev, and there is also a color, autographed informal photo of her.