POGANY, WILLY. 1882-1955.14 costume designs for The Thunderbird, one-act Aztec ballet choreographed by Michel Fokine with libretto by his wife Vera Fokina, performed in the revue Get Together, opened at the New York Hippodrome, September 3, 1921, watercolor, gouache and silver paint over pencil, 13 measure 480 x 348 mm (19 x 13 5/8 inches); and one for Vera Fokina measuring 535 x 370 mm (20 1/2 x 14 1/2 inches), all but one signed "Willy Pogany" and four with Fokine's autograph pencil notation "O. K./ M. Fokine," with additional manuscript notes in Russian and English, many in his hand, on versos, various date labels affixed to the versos, fabric samples to the verso of one, some chipping to corners, minor soiling. Housed in custom cloth box, morocco title label Willy Pogany 1882-1955 on spine. FINE COLLECTION OF POGANY COSTUME DESIGNS FOR FOKINE'S THE THUNDERBIRD. Hungarian-born artist Willy Pogány was one of the most versatile artists of the early 20th Century. He first gained fame as an exceptional children's and other gift book illustrator after he moved to London in 1908. Ten years later he came to the United States where he became a prolific contributor to books and magazines and a busy set and costume designer for Broadway, the Metropolitan Opera and the movies. His murals graced theaters and apartment buildings. In Hollywood, he was art director for many motion pictures including Dames, Dante's Inferno, Kid Millions and Wonder Bar. Walter Lantz's Technicolor animated short Scrambled Eggs (1939) featured Pogány's Peterkin, a mischievous satyr. Michel Fokine (1880-1942) was one of the most influential dancers and choreographers of the Modern Era. Sergei Diaghilev made him resident choreographer of the Ballets Russes in 1909. Among his greatest ballets for this company were The Firebird (1910); Petrushka (1912); and Le Spectre de la Rose (1911) in which Nijinsky danced the lead role. He and his wife, ballerina Vera Fokina, left Russia in 1918. After the triumphal 1918 New York debut of Rimsky-Korsakov's opera Le Coq d'or at The Met as a ballet by Fokine with sets and costumes by Pogány ("as mad as Trotzky [sic] and twice as exhilarating"), the choreographer and his designer teamed again for a new ballet based on an Aztec legend. The Thunderbird was the highlight of Dillingham's oddly assorted Broadway revue Get Together. Fokina was responsible for the libretto; and she and her husband danced as Princess Nahua and Atzlan. The music was a selection from Russian composers Borodin, Glinka and Tchaikovsky, and Fokine also choreographed a ballet on ice for the show based on "The Red Shoes." "Fokine has done a gorgeous piece of choreography, and Mr. Pogany has given it setting and costumes that surpass anything he has heretofore done, not even his 'Coq d'Or.' The story of the princess released by love from the power of a wizard and her union with her warrior lover is beautifully told" (New York Tribune, Sept. 5, 1921). The Thunderbird was like a Native American Firebird. Perhaps the loveliest of Pogány's designs was for Fokina's princess, a silver costume with white ostrich plumes.
POGANY, WILLY. 1882-1955.14 costume designs for The Thunderbird, one-act Aztec ballet choreographed by Michel Fokine with libretto by his wife Vera Fokina, performed in the revue Get Together, opened at the New York Hippodrome, September 3, 1921, watercolor, gouache and silver paint over pencil, 13 measure 480 x 348 mm (19 x 13 5/8 inches); and one for Vera Fokina measuring 535 x 370 mm (20 1/2 x 14 1/2 inches), all but one signed "Willy Pogany" and four with Fokine's autograph pencil notation "O. K./ M. Fokine," with additional manuscript notes in Russian and English, many in his hand, on versos, various date labels affixed to the versos, fabric samples to the verso of one, some chipping to corners, minor soiling. Housed in custom cloth box, morocco title label Willy Pogany 1882-1955 on spine. FINE COLLECTION OF POGANY COSTUME DESIGNS FOR FOKINE'S THE THUNDERBIRD. Hungarian-born artist Willy Pogány was one of the most versatile artists of the early 20th Century. He first gained fame as an exceptional children's and other gift book illustrator after he moved to London in 1908. Ten years later he came to the United States where he became a prolific contributor to books and magazines and a busy set and costume designer for Broadway, the Metropolitan Opera and the movies. His murals graced theaters and apartment buildings. In Hollywood, he was art director for many motion pictures including Dames, Dante's Inferno, Kid Millions and Wonder Bar. Walter Lantz's Technicolor animated short Scrambled Eggs (1939) featured Pogány's Peterkin, a mischievous satyr. Michel Fokine (1880-1942) was one of the most influential dancers and choreographers of the Modern Era. Sergei Diaghilev made him resident choreographer of the Ballets Russes in 1909. Among his greatest ballets for this company were The Firebird (1910); Petrushka (1912); and Le Spectre de la Rose (1911) in which Nijinsky danced the lead role. He and his wife, ballerina Vera Fokina, left Russia in 1918. After the triumphal 1918 New York debut of Rimsky-Korsakov's opera Le Coq d'or at The Met as a ballet by Fokine with sets and costumes by Pogány ("as mad as Trotzky [sic] and twice as exhilarating"), the choreographer and his designer teamed again for a new ballet based on an Aztec legend. The Thunderbird was the highlight of Dillingham's oddly assorted Broadway revue Get Together. Fokina was responsible for the libretto; and she and her husband danced as Princess Nahua and Atzlan. The music was a selection from Russian composers Borodin, Glinka and Tchaikovsky, and Fokine also choreographed a ballet on ice for the show based on "The Red Shoes." "Fokine has done a gorgeous piece of choreography, and Mr. Pogany has given it setting and costumes that surpass anything he has heretofore done, not even his 'Coq d'Or.' The story of the princess released by love from the power of a wizard and her union with her warrior lover is beautifully told" (New York Tribune, Sept. 5, 1921). The Thunderbird was like a Native American Firebird. Perhaps the loveliest of Pogány's designs was for Fokina's princess, a silver costume with white ostrich plumes.
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.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
