Use Restrictions

The copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)

Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Photograph of Martha Graham in "Mirror Before Me" by Arnold Eagle, C0486, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.

Acquisition Information

Purchased by Steve Gerber in March 2012.

Processing Information

Processing completed by Amanda Brent in July 2021. EAD markup completed by Amanda Brent in July 2021. This item was formerly part of the Performing Arts Manuscript Materials collection, C0215.

Biographical Information

Born in 1894 in Pennsylvania, Martha Graham is considered a leading figure of American dance, particularly Modern Dance. Graham created her very own dance style - known as the Graham technique - and founded her dance company in 1926 in Manhattan, New York. Her pioneering style of dance focused on "the emotional activity of the dancers' body," which led to the creation of over 180 ballets and "a dance technique that has been compared to ballet in its scope and magnitude" (Marthagraham.org). Many of Graham's leading roles focused on great women figures of myth and history. Graham received wide acclaim for her dance and choreography over her lifetime and was granted many awards for her service to the arts. Graham danced well into her seventies, and choreographed into her nineties. She died in 1991 at the age of 96. The Martha Graham Dance Company still performs today. Arnold Eagle was a successful Hungarian-American dance and arts photographer. Born in 1909 in Hungary, Eagle immigrated with his parents to Brooklyn, New York in 1929. Eagle was known for documenting dance companies, particularly the Royal Danish Ballet. He also was a prolific social photographer, and was also known for his photography of New York City's impoverished Lower East Side Jewish community. Eagle passed away in 1992.

Scope and Content

Black and white photograph of Martha Graham performing her work "Mirror Before Me" - also known as "Herodiade" - by Arnold Eagle, 1945. The photo features Graham mid-dance in a black dress and posing with an abstract stage prop. The back of the photo features Eagle's stamp, as well as a handwritten inscription that reads "Martha Graham in 'Mirror Before Me' 1945[.]"

Arrangement

This is a single item collection.

Related Material

The Special Collections Research Center also holds many other collections about dance and the performing arts.

The New York Public Library (NYPL) Archives and Manuscripts, Jerome Robbins Dance Division holds the Arnold Eagle dance photography collection and the Martha Graham Dance Company records. In 2020 the NYPL also acquired the Martha Graham archive, which is currently being processed and will be available for access in the future.

The International Center of Photography holds photographs by Arnold Eagle.

The New School Archives and Special Collections holds the Arnold Eagle photographs.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Dance
• Graham, Martha
• Modern dance
• Photography