[On verso, stamped:] Photograph by Carl Van Vechten 101 Central Park West Cannot be Reproduced Without Permission.
Signed photograph. Photo, in ink XXVR.17; Oct 6 1940; 350 x 272mm. 13¾ x 10¾". Laid on card.
Dame Alicia Markova (1910-2004) holding a cross and flowers with glittered letters 'Gis[elle]'. She was an English ballerina and choreographer, director and teacher of classical ballet. Most noted for her career with Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes and touring internationally, she was widely considered to be the greatest classical ballet dancers of the 20th century. She was a founder dancer of the Rambert Dance Company, The Royal Ballet and American Ballet Theatre, and was co-founder and director of the English National Ballet. As prima ballerina with the Vic-Wells Ballet, 1933-5, she was the first British dancer to appear as Giselle and Odette/Odile and created roles in Rendezvous (1933) and The Rake's Progress (1935). She appeared in many ballets around the world, but is remembered mostly for her 'Giselle'. Carl Van Vecthen (1880-1964) was an American essayist and novelist, particularly of 'Nigger Heaven' (1926). He took up photographer in 1932, aiming to portray all the leading creative talent of his era.
[Ref: 23927]  £280.00