Scope and arrangement
The Arnold Eagle dance photograph collection documents national and international dance companies from the years 1934 through 1965. The collection is arranged by format into three series: photographic prints, negatives and transparencies, and contact print scrapbooks. Subseries are then arranged alphabetically.
The prints series consists of black and white prints of varying sizes, ranging from 8" x 10" to 16" x 20". Most of the photographs are unmounted, with the larger sizes mounted on illustration board. The prints include New York City Ballet rehearsals, portraits and studio shots of the José Limón Dance company, and performances by the Dudley-Maslow-Bales Trio. Among the dozen companies represented, there is an emphasis on the Joffrey Ballet, the Martha Graham Dance Company, and the Royal Danish Ballet. Individual dancers such as Harriette Ann Gray and Mary-Averett Seelye are also documented during some of their most well known performances.
The negatives and transparencies series includes a variety of both black and white and color film including 120mm, 4" x 5" transparencies, large format 8" x 10" negatives, and 35mm. About a dozen dance companies are represented with a majority of the series made up by the Joffrey Ballet, the Martha Graham Dance Company, and the Royal Danish Ballet. Niche dance ensembles such as dancers from Bali, Calypso dancers, and the Yemen Dance Group were also documented by Eagle in this collection.
Lastly, three unbound contact print scrapbooks feature a selection of negatives printed from Royal Danish Ballet negatives. Many of these contact prints served as a pool from which Eagle selected to enlarge and were subsequently exhibited in New York City. The scrapbooks are annotated by Eagle with names of companies, performances, and dancers.