Martha Graham collection
Contributors: Barber, Samuel, 1910-1981; Copland, Aaron, 1900-1990; Dello Joio, Norman, 1913-2008; El-Dabh, Halim, 1921-; Emmons, Beverly; Hindemith, Paul, 1895-1963; Horst, Louis; Hovhaness, Alan, 1911-2000; Karan, Donna, 1948-; Lester, Eugene; Menotti, Gian Carlo, 1911-2007; Noguchi, Isamu, 1904-1988; Riegger, Wallingford, 1885-1961; Rosenthal, Jean, 1912-1969; Schuman, William, 1910-1992; Skelton, Thomas R.; Starer, Robert; Ter-Arutunian, Rouben, 1920-; Tipton, Jennifer; Weissberger, L. Arnold, 1907-1981; Martha Graham Dance Company; Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance; Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance; Graham (Martha) Collection (Library of Congress)
Published: 1896
Language: eng
Number of pages: 590
Subjects: Correspondence; Photographs; Choreography; Dance companies; Modern dance; Dancers; Production and direction; Martha Graham Dance Company; Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance; Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance; Dance; Costume design; Archives; Modern dance music; Stage-setting and scenery; Choreographers; Dance schools
Description: The Martha Graham Collection is comprised of materials that document Graham's career and trace the history of the development of her company, Martha Graham Dance Company, which became the Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance, and school, Martha Graham School, later to be called the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance. The materials include holograph scores, orchestral parts, and piano rehearsal scores by composers such as Aaron Copland, Samuel Barber, Alan Hovhaness, Louis Horst, Halim Ed-Dabh, Eugene Lester, Norman Dello Joio, Paul Hindemith, Gian Carlo Menotti, Robert Starer, William Schuman and Wallingford Riegger; scrapbooks and clippings; photographs of Graham, her family and her dances, including informal shots by former Graham board chair Arnold Weissberger; choreographic notebooks containing ideas, sketches and steps sequences; correspondence; articles, speeches and interviews by and about Graham; programs; and Graham's awards, honorary degrees and artwork. In addition, the collection contains material relating to fundraising, such as sponsor and donor lists and grant proposals, and flyers and posters for special events, galas and benefits. In addition to business papers relating to Graham's dance company and school, there are company cast lists, budgets, touring itineraries; lighting, set, and costume designs by Jean Rosenthal, Rouben Ter-Arutunian, Isamu Noguchi, Donna Karan, Beverly Emmons, Jennifer Tipton, and Thomas Skelton; and notes, budgets and itineraries relating to special projects.
Notes: Open to research.

Access Advisory: Not all materials in this collection may be readily accessible; please request accessibility information well in advance of your visit http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.music/perform.contact

Martha Graham Collection, Music Division, Library of Congress.

Certain restrictions to use or copying of materials may apply.

Purchase; Doris Duke Charitable Foundation; 1998.

transferred to the Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division, Library of Congress.

The following collections in the Library of Congress Music Division contain materials related to Martha Graham: Aaron Copland Collection, Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Collection, Herta Moselsio Collection, Nathan Kroll Collection, Helen McGehee and Umaña Collection of Dance Materials, Miriam Cole Collection, Benjamin Garber Collection, and Erick Hawkins Collection. There is correspondence between Graham and former chief of the Music Division, Harold Spivack, in the Music Division's Old Correspondence file. The Music Division also holds archival collections for many of the composers who collaborated with Graham.

The Library of Congress Manuscript Division holds the Lucy Kroll Papers (Graham's agent) and the Muriel Rukeyser Papers, which contain the correspondence of Frances G. Wickes, Graham's psychiatrist. In addition, the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division contains images of Martha Graham.

Martha Graham (b. May 11, 1894 in Allegheny, Pennsylvania; d. April 1, 1991 in New York City), dancer, choreographer, teacher, and company director, was a pioneer in the establishment of  American modern dance and one of the principal choreographers of the twentieth century. In a career spanning over seven decades, she developed her own movement technique and produced over 180 choreographic works. She was also well-known for her innovative collaborations with such artists as, sculptor Isamu Noguchi, lighting designer Jean Rosenthal, and composers Aaron Copland, Samuel Barber, Norman Dello Joio, Robert Starer, William Schuman, and Louis Horst.

Finding aid available in the Library of Congress Performing Arts Reading Room and at http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.music/eadmus.mu010008

The Martha Graham Legacy Archive contains materials from the Martha Graham Legacy Project.

Martha Graham collection of performances of her choreographic works on film and video is mainly comprised of performances of dance works choreographed by Martha Graham.