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Tanaquil Le Clercq outdoors in costume for "Swan Lake"

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58227358

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Title
Tanaquil Le Clercq outdoors in costume for "Swan Lake"
Names
Bascome, Radford, 1913-1984 (Photographer)
Collection

Radford Bascome collection

Book 1

Tanaquil Le Clercq, "Swan Lake"

Dates / Origin
Date Created: 1950 - 1959 (Approximate)
Library locations
Jerome Robbins Dance Division
Shelf locator: *MGZEB 18-6812
Topics
Ballet dancers
Le Clercq, Tanaquil
Westport (Conn.)
Balanchine, George. Swan lake
Outdoor photography
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: pages 80-82
Content: Photographed in Westport, Connecticut
Physical Description
Negatives
Extent: 1 photograph : negative
Type of Resource
Still image
Identifiers
NYPL catalog ID (B-number): b21733729
MSS Unit ID: 24669
Archives EAD ID: 3193862
Universal Unique Identifier (UUID): 4b5c8df0-a852-0138-9a43-0b7cb0aa4afb
Rights Statement
The copyright and related rights status of this item has been reviewed by The New York Public Library, but we were unable to make a conclusive determination as to the copyright status of the item. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use.

Item timeline of events

  • 1913: Creator Born
  • 1950: Created (Approximate)
  • 1984: Creator Died
  • 2026: Digitized
  • 2026: Found by you!
  • 2027

MLA Format

Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library. "Tanaquil Le Clercq outdoors in costume for "Swan Lake"" The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1950 - 1959. https://old-digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/4f68c230-a852-0138-a77e-272ddb45f314

Chicago/Turabian Format

Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library. "Tanaquil Le Clercq outdoors in costume for "Swan Lake"" New York Public Library Digital Collections. Accessed September 23, 2026. https://old-digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/4f68c230-a852-0138-a77e-272ddb45f314

APA Format

Jerome Robbins Dance Division, The New York Public Library. (1950 - 1959). Tanaquil Le Clercq outdoors in costume for "Swan Lake" Retrieved from https://old-digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/4f68c230-a852-0138-a77e-272ddb45f314

Wikipedia Citation

<ref name=NYPL>{{cite web | url=https://old-digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/4f68c230-a852-0138-a77e-272ddb45f314 | title= (still image) Tanaquil Le Clercq outdoors in costume for "Swan Lake", (1950 - 1959)|author=Digital Collections, The New York Public Library |accessdate=September 23, 2026 |publisher=The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations}}</ref>

Tanaquil Le Clercq outdoors in costume for "Swan Lake"