[Dance] [Ballets Russes] [Firebird] [Stravinsky, Igor. (1882–1971)] [Danilova, Alexandra. (1903–1997)] Berman, Eugene. (1899–1972)
Original Painting of the Firebird from Danilova's Personal Collection
112 x 9 cm. Oil on board, signed "gerc" (the artist's nickname) lower right. In the original linen mat and frame (20 x 17 cm), as it hung in Danilova's home until her death. Ca. 1944, around the time of Danilova's performance in the premiere of the Stravinsky/Balanchine "Danses concertantes," designed by Berman.One of the most popular dancers of her time, Danilova was a star at St. Petersburg's Imperial Ballet, with the Ballets Russes under Sergei Diaghilev, and then with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo after Diaghilev's death. One of the greatest dancers of her time, she created numerous important Balanchine roles and was an important teacher at the School of American Ballet. When she died at the age of 93 in 1997, her will stipulated a number of bequests to individuals and institutions, and most of her correspondence, notebooks, artwork and memorabilia is now housed at the Library of Congress, Kent State University's Costume Museum, Ohio's Ursuline College and the New York Public Library. The present item is from the personal collection of one of the principal heirs.
Firebird was one of the first roles performed by Danilova at the Mariinsky, in 1922, at the age of 19, when Fedor Lopukhov staged L’Oiseau de Feu especially for her. (9804)
Art/Sculpture Dance