Research Catalog

Details

Additional authors

1. Pinto, Angelo.

Description

1. 368 drawings : gouache, watercolor, ink, graphite, color, one color, or b&w; 47 x 70 cm. or smaller.

Summary

1. This collection is mainly comprised of original designs and sketches by Salvatore and most likely Angelo Pinto, crafted for or inspired by the choreographic work of Catherine Littlefield. Clearly represented are scenery and costume designs for four Littlefield Ballets: The Minstrel, Terminal, Barn Dance, and Let the Righteous be Glad. Most of the designs were carried out in pencil and gouache on white notebook paper, yet there are also some smaller pen and ink costume studies. Included are several oversized set designs (on tissue paper) for three of the aforementioned ballets. Also present are numerous pen and ink figure studies of Philadelphia Ballet dancers in scenes from various productions, among them Aubade, Barn Dance, Bolero, Daphnis and Chloe, Die Puppenfee, Fête Champêtre, Moment Romantique, and Viennese Waltz; a small number of photographs depicting original artwork and designs by the Pinto brothers, and a small number of miscellaneous dance related artworks.

Subject

1. Littlefield, Catherine
2. Philadelphia Ballet Company
3. Littlefield Ballet (Company)
4. Barn dance (Choreographic work : Littlefield, C)
5. Bolero (Choreographic work : Littlefield, C)
6. Daphnis and Chloe (Choreographic work : Littlefield, C)
7. Moment romantique (Choreographic work : Littlefield, C)
8. Puppenfee (Choreographic work : Littlefield, C)
9. Fête champêtre (Choreographic work : Caton and Littlefield, C)
10. Let the righteous be glad (Choreographic work : Littlefield, C)
11. Minstrel (Choreographic work : Littlefield, C)
12. Terminal (Choreographic work : Littlefield, C)
13. Viennese waltz (Choreographic work : Littlefield, C)
14. Ballet > Pennsylvania > Philadelphia > History
15. Ballet dancers

Genre/Form

1. Costume design drawings.
2. Set design drawings.
3. Photographic prints.

Contents

1. Series I (Box 1). Costume and set designs (297 sheets) for four ballets choreographed by Catherine Littlefield and performed by the Littlefield (Philadelphia) Ballet. None are signed or dated. The designs are on notebook paper in pencil, pen and ink, and gouache, occasionally including additional colored paper affixed onto the design. Some designs feature fabric swatches and annotations documenting the dancer(s) or character for which the design is intended or the number of dancers who would be wearing the design. Many of the designs, however, bear no annotation. Present are 6 costume designs and 2 set designs for The Minstrel (1935), 34 costume designs and 2 set designs for Barn Dance (1937), and 21 costume designs and 4 set designs for Let the Righteous be Glad (1937). The last ballet depicts an African village where the inhabitants are abducted into slavery, then subsequently taken to America where they are converted to Christianity. The bulk of the series is comprised of works generated for Littlefield's ballet Terminal: 110 costume designs, 27 set designs, and two sheets of manuscript notes. There are 48 designs alone for the many costume changes required of the character of the "Hollywood Star," played by Catherine Littlefield herself. Some of the designs for The Minstrel, Barn Dance, and Terminal were replicated in the company's souvenir programs. Costume and set designs are identified by the ballet, and, when appropriate, the character represented. Also included are 86 unidentified costume and set designs, possibly for other Littlefield works or other theatrical productions. Folders 1-9, Barn dance; folders 10-12, Let the righteous be glad; folders 13-14, The Minstrel; folders 15-33, Terminal; folders 34-48, Unidentified works.
2. Series II (Box 2). Drawings and photographs (80 sheets), Including sketches of dancers in addition to photographs documenting some of the Pinto's design work. The sketches mainly comprise pen and ink figure studies of Littlefield Ballet dancers in numerous choreographic works (sometimes with multiple works represented on one page), including Aubade, Barn Dance, Bolero, Daphnis and Chloe, Die Puppenfee, Fête Champêtre, Moment Romantique, and Viennese Waltz. It appears that these drawings were likely commissioned by Catherine Littlefield, as a number were featured in company programs, performance announcements and advertisements for the Littlefield Ballet (later called the Philadelphia Ballet). Also present are a small number of miscellaneous dance- or theatre-related art pieces that have no clear relation to the Littlefield or Philadelphia Ballet. The photographs, most of which are credited to the Pintos themselves, depict set designs, stage models (maquettes), and masks possibly crafted by the Pinto brothers for unidentified dance or theatrical productions. Folders 1-4, Figure studies (59 drawings, chiefly b&w); folder 5. Miscellaneous artwork (6 drawings); folder 6, Photographs: Drawings and designs (5 photographs); folder 7, Photographs: Maquettes (8 photographs); folder 8, Photographs: Masks (2 photographs).
3. Series III (Box 3). Oversized set designs (10 sheets) for three Littlefield ballets: Terminal (1937), The Minstrel (1935), and Let the Righteous be Glad (1937). In addition to pencil designs on tissue paper, the Terminal group contains a construction paper, collage-type rendering of the train terminal that overlays the larger design. Folder 1, Let the righteous be glad (4 drawings); folder 2, Terminal (3 drawings); folder 3, The Minstrel (1 drawing) and Terminal (2 drawings).

Call number

1. *MGZGV 12-2309

Note

1. Title devised by cataloger.
2. Some sheets include a drawing on the verso, usually a sketch in graphite.

Source (note)

1. Estate of Salvatore Pinto

Biography (note)

1. Salvatore and Angelo Pinto were born in Salerno, Italy and moved to the United States as young children. Their family settled in Philadelphia, where Salvatore, Angelo, and their younger brother Biagio began to study art with Dr. Albert C. Barnes in the 1920s. Between 1930 and 1933 the three Pinto brothers received scholarships from the Barnes Foundation to travel and paint in southern France. During the 1930s the brothers often worked in a shared studio, traveled together and exhibited jointly, forging a close association between their respective bodies of work. All three brothers painted in both watercolors and oils, and Angelo was asked to teach painting at the Barnes Foundation in 1934. Later, as an artist with the WPA's Graphic Arts Workshop in Philadelphia, Salvatore turned from painting to printmaking, and his prints gained him increased recognition in the art world. Starting in 1935, Salvatore and Angelo began designing sets and costumes for Catherine Littlefield, director and principal choreographer of the Littlefield Ballet (later called the Philadelphia Ballet). The Pintos created designs for at least four Littlefield productions between 1935 and 1937: The Minstrel, Terminal, Barn Dance, and Let the Righteous be Glad. Often the costumes were attributed to Salvatore and the scenery to Angelo; however, the true nature of their collaboration is not fully known. Additionally, one or both of the brothers generated numerous sketches of Philadelphia Ballet dancers in various productions, some of which were used to illustrate programs, announcements, or advertisements for the ballet. In addition to their design work and personal artistic ventures, in the 1930s the Pinto brothers started a commercial photography studio in New York City, which produced work for Life and Look magazines. Salvatore was also employed as a photographer for the Curtis Publishing Company. After a serious car accident in 1950, Salvatore began spending more time on Long Beach Island, New Jersey, where he eventually retired, passing away in 1966. Works by Salvatore Pinto are represented in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Whitney Museum of American Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, The Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Smithsonian Institute, the Barnes Foundation, and The Noyes Museum of Art. Angelo Pinto's works are represented in the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and the Barnes Foundation in Merion, Pa., where he taught painting for nearly six decades. He died in 1994 at the age of 85 in New York City.

Author

1. Pinto, Salvatore. Artist

Title

1. Pinto brothers designs and drawings [graphic], circa 1935-1937.

Imprint

1. [1935-1937]

Biography

1. Salvatore and Angelo Pinto were born in Salerno, Italy and moved to the United States as young children. Their family settled in Philadelphia, where Salvatore, Angelo, and their younger brother Biagio began to study art with Dr. Albert C. Barnes in the 1920s. Between 1930 and 1933 the three Pinto brothers received scholarships from the Barnes Foundation to travel and paint in southern France. During the 1930s the brothers often worked in a shared studio, traveled together and exhibited jointly, forging a close association between their respective bodies of work. All three brothers painted in both watercolors and oils, and Angelo was asked to teach painting at the Barnes Foundation in 1934. Later, as an artist with the WPA's Graphic Arts Workshop in Philadelphia, Salvatore turned from painting to printmaking, and his prints gained him increased recognition in the art world. Starting in 1935, Salvatore and Angelo began designing sets and costumes for Catherine Littlefield, director and principal choreographer of the Littlefield Ballet (later called the Philadelphia Ballet). The Pintos created designs for at least four Littlefield productions between 1935 and 1937: The Minstrel, Terminal, Barn Dance, and Let the Righteous be Glad. Often the costumes were attributed to Salvatore and the scenery to Angelo; however, the true nature of their collaboration is not fully known. Additionally, one or both of the brothers generated numerous sketches of Philadelphia Ballet dancers in various productions, some of which were used to illustrate programs, announcements, or advertisements for the ballet. In addition to their design work and personal artistic ventures, in the 1930s the Pinto brothers started a commercial photography studio in New York City, which produced work for Life and Look magazines. Salvatore was also employed as a photographer for the Curtis Publishing Company. After a serious car accident in 1950, Salvatore began spending more time on Long Beach Island, New Jersey, where he eventually retired, passing away in 1966. Works by Salvatore Pinto are represented in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Whitney Museum of American Art, the Art Institute of Chicago, The Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Smithsonian Institute, the Barnes Foundation, and The Noyes Museum of Art. Angelo Pinto's works are represented in the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and the Barnes Foundation in Merion, Pa., where he taught painting for nearly six decades. He died in 1994 at the age of 85 in New York City.

Local note

1. Cataloging funds provided by Friends of Jerome Robbins Dance Division.

Source

1. Gift; Estate of Salvatore Pinto, 1996.

Added author

1. Pinto, Angelo. Artist

Research call number

1. *MGZGV 12-2309