Use Restrictions

Public Domain. There are no known restrictions.

Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Ernst Oppler illustrations of Anna Pavlova in "The Dying Swan," C0453, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.

Acquisition Information

Purchased by Steve Gerber from Schubertiade Music on 1/20/2011.

Processing Information

Processing completed by Elizabeth Beckman in November 2019. EAD markup completed by Elizabeth Beckman in November 2019. This item was formerly part of the Performing Arts Manuscript Materials collection, C0215.

Biographical Information

Anna Pavlova (1881-1931) was the most famous ballerina of the early 20th century. Born in Russia, she trained with the Imperial Ballet School and danced with the Russian Imperial Ballet from 1899 until 1913 (John F. Kennedy Center, "Anna Pavlova"). She toured the world and also danced with Sergei Diaghlev's Ballets Russes. In 1913, she relocated permanently to the United Kingdom and formed her own dance company (Victoria and Albert Museum, "Anna Pavlova"). Pavlova's famous solo, "The Dying Swan," was performed to music by Camille Saint-Saens.

German artist Ernst Oppler (1867-1929) sketched and made engravings of Anna Pavlova and several other dancers associated with the Ballets Russes ("Ernst Oppler," "Oppler, Ernst").

Scope and Content

Four drypoint etchings of Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova in various poses from the famous ballet solo "The Dying Swan," dated 1914, 1917, and circa 1924 (one is undated). According to the dealer from whom they were purchased, the etchings are numbers 7,8, 21, and 22 of a series of etchings by German artist Ernst Oppler.

Arrangement

The etchings are arranged in chronological order - 1914, 1917, circa 1924, and undated.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Ballet
• Dying swan (Choreographic work : Fokine)
• Pavlova, Anna, 1881-1931