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Creator
Payne, Charles
Call number
*MGZEB 18-2792
Physical description
38.30 linear feet (51 boxes)
Language
English
Preferred Citation
Charles Payne collection, *MGZEB 18-2792. Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
Repository
Jerome Robbins Dance Division
Access to materials
Request an in-person research appointment.Restrictions apply

The Charles Payne collection spans over five decades of materials documenting the American Ballet Theatre with items such as photographs, clippings and articles, performance programs, and costume and set designs. Payne occupied various administrative roles throughout his nearly 40 year career with the company and compiled the contents of this collection. He also collected photographs of a small number of American and European dance companies. The majority of the collection is photographs of American Ballet Theatre's reportoire dating back to its predecessor, the Mordkin Ballet, in the late 1930s to the Ballet Theatre's formation in 1940 and its subsequent activities for more than thirty years thereafter.

Biographical/historical information

Charles Payne (1909-1994) was an integral part of the American Ballet Theatre administration from its formative years. Born on March 11, 1909 in Brooklyn, New York, Payne attended Yale College for an undergraduate degree and later Yale Law School. He was admitted to the New York Bar, but didn't have any intention of practicing. In 1941, he accepted a position at Ballet Theatre and was named executive managing director. Payne had a hand in every aspect of the company from coordinating contracts with famous artists and photographers to designing and publishing souvenir programs. Payne's award-winning souvenir programs became a lucrative extension of the company's publicity campaign.

American Ballet Theatre has been regarded as the preeminent ballet company in the United States. In 1939, Ballet Theatre (as it was known until 1957) grew out of the Mordkin Ballet Company founded by Russian choreographer and dancer Mikhail Mordkin. Ballet Theatre's transition was led by Richard Pleasant and principal dancer Lucia Chase who reorganized the company into a nationally and internationally renowned ballet company. Chase remained dedicated to the repertory and legacy of the American Ballet Theatre until her retirement as company director in 1980 when Mikhail Baryshnikov took over the position. The mission for the formation of the American Ballet Theatre was to create a uniquely American company "which would preserve the best of the classic tradition of Europe and at the same time lay the foundation for a new tradition, American in concept and spirit."

Scope and arrangement

The Charles Payne collection documents the performances and activities of the American Ballet Theatre as well as other well-known ballet companies from 1929 to 1983. The collection is arranged alphabetically in three series: Photographs, Promotional Materials, and Designs. The items in this collection were collected by Charles Payne throughout his career at the American Ballet Theatre. The photographs, designs, and mock-ups contained in this collection now serve as an important pictorial history of the company.

Series I, Photographs, predominantly represents the American Ballet Theatre's repertory and a broad range of its dancers and personnel, but also includes a small portion of photographs of other American and European companies such as Ballet de l'Opéra de Paris, National Ballet of Canada, and Royal Ballet of England. Photographic formats included are prints, black and white negatives, transparencies, slides, and contact sheets. The photographs were produced by a number of notable 20th century photographers such as Cecil Beaton, Gjon Mili, George Platt Lynes, and Richard Avedon; as well as photographers who specialized in dance photography such as Fred Fehl, Martha Swope, Kenn Duncan, Jack Mitchell, Maurice Seymour, and Bruce Marks.

Series II, Promotional Materials, contains printed matter pertaining to the publicity and promotion of the American Ballet Theatre. This includes souvenir programs, posters, ephemera, and newspaper clippings. Also included are the publication awards which were presented to Charles Payne for the souvenir programs he produced each season of the Ballet Theatre.

Series III comprises designs for publicity and advertising, costumes, and sets and scenery. The advertising and publicity designs include mock-ups, original collages, and artwork that was used in Payne's award-winning publications for the American Ballet Theatre. Additionally, there are both facsimile and original sketches for costumes and sets in a variety of visual media such as ink, pencil, and watercolor.

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

The collection was donated in several installments by Charles Payne from the 1970s through the 1990s and then by his estate after his death in 1994.

Processing information

Processed by Tara D. Strongosky, 2018.

Using the collection

Location

Jerome Robbins Dance Division
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center
40 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, NY 10023-7498
Third Floor

Access restrictions

Some photographs are marked on their verso as strictly prohibited from being copied or exhibited as indicated by the photographer's stamp. Many of these prints are proofs or unretouched photographs.