Use Restrictions

Public Domain. There are no known restrictions.

Acccess Restrictions

There are no access restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Photograph of of four dancers by Maurice Goldberg, C0479, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.

Acquisition Information

Purchased by Steve Gerber from Schubertiade Music on January 26, 2010.

Processing Information

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

Biographical Information

Born in 1881, Maurice Goldberg was a prominent American entertainment photographer in the early 20th century, with a talent and renown for dance photography. Goldberg was a particular proponent of photographing dancers mid-choreography, as well as photographing plein-air dancing, both of which are featured in this photograph. A Russian immigrant, Goldberg's studio in New York City attracted Russian immigrant entertainers and artists of the day, which gained him notoriety. Eventually Goldberg would serve as "The Theatre" magazine's staff photographer, and his work was featured in other publications. He was also a favorite photographer of George Gershwin. Goldberg passed away in 1949.

Scope and Content

Black and white photograph of four dancers by Maurice Goldberg, circa 1910s. The image features a unique round-lens image with four presumably women dancers mid-dance, facing the camera with their arms raised and heads tilted back. The dancers are outside and costumed in clothes reminiscent of classical Grecian garb. There is a raised stamp in the bottom right corner that reads "Maurice Goldberg New York[.]" There is a possibility that these dancers could be the Isadora Duncan Dancers, but there is no way to verify this. The back of the photograph has stamps from Culver Pictures, Inc. and some illegible inscriptions on it.

Arrangement

Related Material

The Special Collections Research Center holds many other materials on dance and dance photography.

The Margaret Herrick Library of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences holds the Maurice Goldberg nitrate negatives.

The National Portrait Gallery, London holds photographs by Goldberg.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Dance
• Photography