Loading...
Creator
Duncan, Kenn
Call number
*T-Vim 2003-005
Physical description
210.7 linear feet (392 boxes)
Language
English
Preferred Citation

Kenn Duncan Photograph Archive, *T-VIM 2003-005. Billy Rose Theatre Collection, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.

Repository
Billy Rose Theatre Division
Access to materials
Request an in-person research appointment.Restrictions apply
Portions of this collection have been digitized and are available online.

Kenn Duncan, photographer, was well known for his photographs of performing artists. The archive documents his career.

Biographical/historical information

Considered by many to be one of the foremost dance photographers of the late twentieth century, Kenneth Duncan, Jr. was born on September 22, 1928 in New Jersey. Duncan came by both photography and dancing in an indirect way. His initial interest in movement came about through his study of ballet which he undertook in order to perfect his form as a roller-skating champion. Duncan achieved the highest honors in the sport, but eventually he abandoned skating for a career as a dancer, which gained him much recognition. Sometime in the 1960s, however, he injured his leg badly enough that he had to abandon his career as a dancer. He became an assistant to a fashion photographer and learned how to use a camera, eventually taking over the studio in the late 1960s, moving into dance photography.

Duncan sought to capture the sense of movement in his photography while revealing, according to one critic, an "outer beauty and inner essence" of his subjects with a technique that garnered him international acclaim. While he photographed a wide range of performers and personalities including, among others, Maxwell Caulfield, Dick Cavett, Eartha Kitt, Angela Lansbury, Marcel Marceau and Bette Midler, it was through his work in photographing dancers and dance companies that he first gained recognition. Over the course of his career he photographed the top dancers in the world during the mid to late twentieth century, recording their virtuosity in a way that revealed great sensitivity on his part. Duncan's subjects included Mikhail Baryshnikov, Natalia Makarova, Rudolf Nureyev, Cynthia Gregory, Fernando Bujones, Judith Jamison, Gelsey Kirkland, Alicia Alonso and numerous company dancers. He also photographed nearly every principal dance company in the world. The American companies include: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, American Ballet Theatre, Ballet West, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Joffrey Ballet, New York City Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet, Pilobolus, San Francisco Ballet, Murray Louis Dance Company and the Alwin Nikolais, Paul Taylor and Twyla Tharp companies. Among the foreign companies are: the Australian Ballet, Maurice Bejart's Ballet of the 20th Century, Bolshoi Ballet, Royal Danish Ballet, National Ballet of Canada, Netherlands Dance Theatre, and the Royal Ballet. He also photographed the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival and was invited to Cuba to photograph their 8th International Dance Festival.

In 1984 he published a collection of photographs entitled Red Shoes, a collection that was inspired by the motion picture The Wizard of Oz. In the collection Duncan features celebrities in various poses with white costumes and complementary red shoes, boots, sandals, sneakers, toe shoes or ballet slippers. He also published two other books: Nudes (1970) and More Nudes (1971), featuring discreet and artistic arrangements of his subjects. He was a highly regarded photographer of male nudes. Mr. Duncan was also the featured photographer on numerous other publications.

In addition to his dance work and books, Duncan photographed numerous theatrical productions including the Broadway shows The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, The Elephant Man, La Cage aux Folles, My One and Only and Sophisticated Ladies, among others. He also had numerous commercial clients, including a long stint as photographer for the 1970s entertainment and culture magazine After Dark. His work is represented in many collections of museums and libraries throughout the world including The Brooklyn Museum, the Chicago Historical Society, the Dance Library of Israel, the Harvard Libraries, the Indianapolis Museum of Art, the International Center of Photography, the Parsons School of Design, the Smithsonian Institution and the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam in addition to The New Public Library for the Performing Arts.

Mr. Duncan also garnered recognition in the form of a National Endowment for the Arts Grant and the International Brotherhood and Peace Award. He had a brief stint in the United States Army from 1950-1956, with the last four years in the Army Reserve. He died on July 27, 1986.

Scope and arrangement

Over 600,000 items are estimated to be in the collection that represents the whole of Duncan's work as a photographer. These include photographs, contact prints, negatives, slides, and oversized posters and prints as well as memos, programs, clippings, contracts, exhibition records, financial records, appointment books and a program from Duncan's memorial service.

The images are in both black and white and color. These items document Duncan's work with Broadway shows, dance companies, individual performers and celebrities in addition to his work for commercial clients such as After Darkmagazine. The images cover a range of subjects. They can be documentation of a rehearsal or performance in the form of production shots, or studio shoots done for promotional purposes, experimentation or sheer playfulness. The subjects of works such as Red Shoes and Nudes revolve around one particular theme: personalities posing in various guises of red footwear and the nude body, particularly male, in various poses. The collection also contains images taken for projects that were not completed by the time of Duncan's death, such as Broadway Buns and various calendars.

Duncan's commercial work is also well represented with documentation of his work for After Dark, the BMB Calendar, the National Hairdressers and Cosmetologists Association, and his fashion photography. There is also a series organized around his photography of various locations and events throughout the world. The oversized material series includes posters featuring Duncan's work, large photographic prints, and a few hand drawn sketches given to Duncan; grouping within the series reflects the overall organization of the archive.

PLEASE NOTE: There are numerous photographs of nude individuals in the collection, both male and female, although the majority are of male nudes; these images can be found not only in the Nudes series but also scattered throughout other series.

The Kenn Duncan photograph archive is arranged in fifteen series:

  • Series I: Theatrical Productions
    1968-1985
    54 boxes

    This series includes slides, prints, contact sheets and negatives for theatrical productions photographed by Kenn Duncan. Occasionally there are also included programs and clippings from the production.

  • Series II: Performing Arts Personalities
    1967-1986
    87 boxes

    Photographs of the famous and not-so-famous, with prints, contact sheets, slides, and some negatives included. Portraits were shot in studio unless otherwise noted. Some subjects were listed by Duncan with first name only.

  • Series III: Dance Individuals
    1968-1986
    49 boxes

    This series includes prints, contact sheets, negatives and slides of dancers. Occasionally there are also included programs, clippings, notes, invoices and flyers. Most images are in a studio setting, and the dance work is listed when known.

  • Series IV: Dance Companies
    1965, 1970-1986
    32 boxes

    Primarily includes prints, contact sheets, and slides of mostly American dance companies, including Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, American Ballet Theatre, Ballet West, Houston Ballet and its school, Paul Taylor Dance Company, Pennsylvania Ballet, and Saeko Ichinoke and Company.

  • Series V: Sports Figures
    1975-1984
    5 boxes

    Images from the worlds of gymnastics and ice skating including individuals Wendy Hilliard, Toby Towson, Robin Cousins, John Curry, Allan Schram, and Michael Tokar, and groups including the United States gymnast team and the Ice Capades.

  • Series VI: Red Shoes
    1978-1984
    13 boxes

    Images taken by Kenn Duncan for his book Red Shoes, published by Universe Books, 1984. For publication, see call number *MGRZ 87-4898.

  • Series VII: Broadway Buns
    1982-1985
    6 boxes

    Duncan's images for his planned book Broadway Buns : A View of the Theatre from Behind. The photographer's filing system has been maintained. Drafts of the accompanying text may be found in Series XIII Professional Papers; Subseries - Publications.

  • Series VIII: Nudes
    1969-1983, undated
    7 boxes

    This series includes 8" x 10" prints, contact sheets, negatives and slides. Occasionally there are included notes and invoices. Most images are in a studio setting. Several folders of unidentified nude shots (8" x 10") are included at the end of the series in Box 8-6 and Box 8-7. See also Series XI Oversized Material for additional nude photographic prints.

  • Series IX: Clients
    1964-1986, undated
    39 boxes

    Duncan's major clients represented here include After Dark magazine (1968-1981), fashion designers Norman Norell and Yves St. Laurent, Van Heusen Creative Design Group, National Hairdressers and Cosmetologists Association, Consolidated Millinery, additional fashion designers and hairdressers, and multiple advertising, modeling and talent agencies. The photographer's filing and labeling systems have been maintained.

    The After Darkfolders contain photos filed by location with additional images filed chronologically. Many After Darklocation shots are filed in both Series IX Clients and Series X Locations.

  • Series X: Locations and Events
    1969-1985
    8 boxes

    Duncan traveled the world with his camera, sometimes placing friends and acquaintances in his location shots. The events portrayed here are holidays, circuses, rodeos, parades, and the 1969 Tony Awards.

    Anomalies such as "Joan Crawford's wardrobe" or "Plumbers" are included in this Series as they were filed with "Locations and Events" by Duncan and his staff.

  • Series XI: Oversized Materials
    1966-1986, undated
    66 boxes + 37 folders

    Includes large photographs, posters featuring Duncan's work, mounted photographic prints, silkscreen prints, and a few hand drawn sketches given to Duncan.

  • Series XII: Negatives

    Closed to the public.

  • Series XIII: Professional Papers
    1968-1986
    14 boxes

    Duncan's records include business correspondence, contracts and schedules, as well as extensive samples of his published work. Jan Frazier worked as his assistant in the 1980's, maintaining his professional records.

    Major clients represented within these records include: After Dark magazine and The National Hairdressers and Cosmetologists Association (NHCA).

  • Series XIV: Personal Papers
    1952-1986, undated

    Duncan's personal papers consist primarily of photographs. Also included are greeting cards, membership information, legal records, medical records and papers regarding Duncan's memorial service held on September 7, 1986 in New York City.

  • Series XV: Unidentified Contact Sheets
    1962-1974, 1980-1983, undated

    These black and white contact prints were labeled "Miscellaneous," and stored by Duncan in vertical files. Most of them were filed by date and were shot in studio, with only a few outdoor location settings.

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

The collection was donated by Kenn Duncan's brother and sister in 2003.

Processing information

Processed by LPA Staff; Machine-readable finding aid created by Mary Ellen Rogan, Mark C. Maniak, Charles Perrier, Phil Karg and Barbara Knowles.

Separated material

  • *T-Cabinet - Studio 54 Invitation to Second Anniversary Celebration, 1979 April 26
  • *T-Cabinet - Studio 54 Invitation to Valentine's Day Party (with Cupid's Arrow), 1979 February 14
  • *T-Cabinet - "Red Shoes" Banner

Using the collection

Location

Billy Rose Theatre 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

Conditions Governing Use

For permission to publish, contact the Curator, Billy Rose Theatre Collection.

Access restrictions

Library policies on photocopying apply.