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Fred Fehl was born in 1906 in Vienna and lived there until he fled from the Nazis
in
1938, arriving in New York in 1939. There he worked as a children's photographer
to
support himself while he pursued his love of theater by taking live shots of theater
productions. He showed his prints to press agents and soon had a thriving career
as
a theater, dance, and music photographer. He published several books of his
photography, including Stars of the Ballet and Dance in
Performance Photographs (1984) and At New York
City Ballet (1991). |
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The Fred Fehl Dance Collection consists of photographs, programs, and published
materials related to Fehl’s work documenting dance performances, mainly in New
York
City. It is organized in five series: I. Prints, 1940-1985, undated (104 boxes,
3
oversize folders), II. Negatives, 1940-1985, undated (19 boxes), III. Slides and
Transparencies, 1957-1980, undated (7 boxes), IV. Dance Programs, 1940-1985 (6.5
boxes), and V. Other Published Materials, 1940-1985, undated (4.5 boxes). |
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The Prints series is predominantly comprised of black and white 5 x 7" prints that
capture dance performances in New York City, 1940-1985. The materials are organized
alphabetically by company name, then by year within each company, and alphabetically
by ballet within each year. Best represented are the American Ballet Theatre,
1940-1977 (32 boxes); the Joffrey Ballet, 1965-1975 (7 boxes); and the New York
City
Ballet, 1948-1985 (43 boxes). Numerous other dance companies are also represented,
such as the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo,
and
the Martha Graham Dance Company. In addition to photographs of performances, there
are occasional shots of rehearsals, studio shots, or individual dancer portraits;
some televised ballet productions are also represented. This series also contains
oversize prints, contact sheets, and retouched prints. |
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Series II. Negatives are located in boxes 117-134 and are arranged alphabetically
by
company name, then by year within each company. Boxes 117-132 contain rolls of
35mm
and 120 negatives while boxes 133-134 contain individual frames or strips of
negatives in various formats, including long strips of 35mm negatives, originally
in
negative files, which were cut in order to be housed properly. The rolls of
negatives were originally housed in small boxes. Most were grouped by company,
though some boxes contained negatives from several companies. Each negative roll
is
labeled with a number originally assigned by Fehl, some of which are listed in
parentheses in the inventory. Some of the boxes included labels or programs that
provide information regarding the production corresponding to each roll of
negatives. These labels are located in box 112. Photocopies of the tops and sides
of
the original boxes, which contain dates and other information, are also available.
Other original housing materials are located in box 142. The Negatives series
also
contains some rolls of color filmstrips. An advance appointment is required to
view
photographic negatives in the Reading Room. |
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Series III. Slides and Transparencies are in boxes 135-141. The slides are housed
in
boxes 135-140 while the transparencies are in box 141. They are organized
alphabetically by company name, then by year within each company, and alphabetically
by ballet within each year. The bulk of the transparencies are studio shots of
dancers. The names of the dancers included in each production are also listed
in the
container list. |
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The Programs series, also arranged alphabetically by company name and then by year
for each company, is made up of the dance programs Fehl collected. As in the Prints
series, the American Ballet Theatre, the Joffrey Ballet, and the New York City
Ballet dominate, but programs for many other companies are also present. |
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The final series, Other Published Materials, represents Fehl's dance photography as
reproduced in newspapers and magazines and other media. Included are clippings,
tear
sheets, magazine covers, sound recording covers, and scrapbooks. |
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The Ransom Center also holds Fehl's collection of dance periodicals. See the Fred
Fehl Theater Collection for his work documenting theatrical performances. |
