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Radford Bascome collection

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Collection Data

Description
The Radford Bascome collection contains over 8,600 negatives that documents dance from 1954 through 1958 with the majority of the collection representing New York City Ballet. Other companies included are American Ballet Theatre and Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, as well as performances from Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival. Also included are Bascome's commercial and advertising work as well as some personal photographs. Brief biographies of Bascome's subjects are provided throughout the collection as well as correspondence from dancers whom he photographed.
Names
Bascome, Radford, 1913-1984 (Photographer)
Dates / Origin
Date Created: 1950 - 1959 (Approximate)
Library locations
Jerome Robbins Dance Division
Shelf locator: *MGZEB 18-6812
Topics
Adams, Diana, 1926-1993
Balanchine, George
Bolender, Todd
Cunningham, Merce
Dorati, Antal
Eglevsky, André
Hayden, Melissa
Jillana
Kaye, Nora, 1920-1987
Kent, Allegra
Le Clercq, Tanaquil
Limón, José
Markova, Alicia, Dame, 1910-2004
Mounsey, Yvonne
Reed, Janet, 1916-2000
Slavenska, Mia
Tallchief, Maria
Verdy, Violette, 1933-2016
American Ballet Theatre
Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo
Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival
New York City Ballet
Ballet companies -- Photographs
Genres
Photographs
Notes
Biographical/historical: W. Radford Bascome, Jr., born 1913 in New York, made his living in the field of public relations until he developed his hobby of photography into a profession in 1953. He descended from a military family and maintained status in the United States Marine Corps reserves while also being active in honing his photography skills. His avenue into dance photography was by chance when he used dancers to test a new electronic flash unit on his camera. His first dance pictures sold and led to Bascome becoming a significant photographer of the New York ballet scene in the mid-20th century. In 1955, just two years into his professional career, the New York City Center gallery held an exhibition of his photographs of the New York City Ballet titled The Ballet in Mood and Movement. The exhibition featured mostly black and white 35mm candid pictures taken backstage during rehearsals and performances. He was one of George Balanchine's favored artists and was given unparalleled access to the New York City Ballet as a result. Bascome's work was also seen in print such as his experimental "Rorschach Ballet" photographs which were featured in a 1954 Life Magazine spread. In the early 1960s he contributed to Dance Magazine's Cook of the Month articles featuring favorite recipes of dancers Violette Verdy and Lupe Serrano. He both wrote and photographed for the articles. In addition to his dance photography, he also is credited for various Mercury Records album covers most notably the conductor and composer Antal Doráti. Bascome died in 1984 at age 70 on Long Island.
Content: The collection comprises over 8,600 black and white negatives by the photographer Radford Bascome and represents an extensive understanding of his output as a dance photographer. The photographs can be roughly dated to the 1950s with some of the photographs identified between the years 1954 through 1958. The majority of the material represents dancers of the New York City Ballet and the works of George Balanchine. Other ballet companies included are American Ballet Theatre and the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, as well as performances from Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival. Bascome's advertising and commercial clients included Pappagallo shoes, Tiffany and Company, and Kislav perfume. Photographic formats included in the collection are black and white 120mm negatives, 35mm negatives, contact sheets, and some proof prints. Included among the notable dance figures are Yvonne Mounsey, Alicia Markova, Merce Cunningham, José Limón, André Eglevsky, Violette Verdy, Nora Kaye, Melissa Hayden, Tanaquil LeClercq, Mia Slavenska, Allegra Kent, Diana Adams, Maria Tallchief, and Janet Reed. Many of New York City Ballet's productions are documented in the collection such as Balanchine's The Nutcracker, The Cage, Fanfare, and Western Symphony. The photographs were originally housed in three-ring binders. The original order in which the binders were received has been retained. Each binder includes a typed table of contents, though the material is not arranged in any discernible order. These tables of contents will also be available as an additional online resource. Each binder also includes brief biographies of Bascome's subjects which were acquired by the donor from various online resources. Some binders contain handwritten correspondence addressed to Bascome from dancers whom he photographed. Much of this correspondence directly addresses the photographs present in the collection. The fourteenth binder contains a combination of unidentified negatives, contact prints, and full size prints.
Physical Description
Extent: 8 boxes 3.12 linear feet
Negatives
Type of Resource
Still image
Identifiers
Other local Identifier: *MGZEB 18-6812
NYPL catalog ID (B-number): b21733729
MSS Unit ID: 24669
Universal Unique Identifier (UUID): 8fa6f620-5b26-0138-765c-79b26966d098
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