Serge Lifar in the role of Apollo - Original Drawing inscribed to Lifar

Original drawing by Jean Cocteau of the important dancer Serge Lifar as Apollo, in Balanchine's 1928 ballet. Inscribed by Cocteau to Lifar: "A mon Serge / Jean."  Drawn in pencil on a sheet of letterhead with the Parisian address "16. Rue de la Felicité. XVIIe." Some light toning and one soft diagonal crease; overall in fine condition. 8 x 10.5 inches (20.8 x 26.9 cm).

From the collection of the important dancer and choreographer Serge Lifar, considered the successor to Nijinsky in the Ballets Russes.  After Diaghilev's death in 1929, he became the director of the Paris Opéra Ballet, a position he held during three decades until he was forced to retire in 1958. Beginning in the 1920's and continuing until his death, Lifar amassed a large collection of props, designs, costumes, art, and other dance and music artifacts, much of which came from Diaghilev either before or after his death, or from other Ballets Russes associates. Sotheby's conducted several sales on his behalf in the 1970's–80's, and the final auction of his collection in 2012 saw record-breaking sales.

Apollo is a neoclassical ballet in two tableaux composed between 1927 and 1928 by Igor Stravinsky. It was choreographed in 1928 by twenty-four-year-old George Balanchine, with the composer contributing the libretto. The original cast included Serge Lifar as Apollo, Alice Nikitina as Terpsichore (alternating with Alexandra Danilova), and Lubov Tchernicheva as Calliope. (16526)

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Art

Dance

Art & Design

Signed Document/Item

• Sold