Artwork
H Beard Print Collection
H Beard Print Collection is a print by Philip Dadd. It dates from 25 and is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
About this work
This is a print showing a scene from a ballet stage. It was made in 1914 by Philip Dadd, a British artist. The image was first published in The Sphere magazine.
It shows dancers from the Ballet Russes performing Le Coq D'or at Drury Lane. The print captures a moment right before the show opened.
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Overview
This 1914 print by British artist Philip Dadd captures a scene from the Ballet Russes' performance of Le Coq d'Or at London's Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.
This 1914 print by British artist Philip Dadd captures a scene from the Ballet Russes' performance of Le Coq d'Or at London's Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. Originally published in The Sphere magazine on 25 June, it documents the production shortly before its public debut. The image is a lithographic reproduction, typical of illustrated periodicals of the era, offering a glimpse into early 20th-century theatrical culture in Britain.
Subject & Meaning
The print depicts a moment from Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s fairy-tale opera, adapted as a ballet by the Ballet Russes. Dadd focuses on the dancers in elaborate costumes, suggesting the exoticism and theatricality central to the production. The scene conveys anticipation—performers poised mid-motion, as if on the cusp of the curtain’s rise—emphasizing the ritual of live performance rather than its climax.
Technique & Style
Dadd employed a detailed, linear style characteristic of journalistic illustration of the time. The print uses fine ink lines and tonal shading to define figures and costumes, with minimal background detail to direct focus to the performers. The composition is tightly framed, enhancing the immediacy of the moment. As a reproduction for mass circulation, it prioritizes clarity and narrative legibility over artistic experimentation.
History & Provenance
Created for The Sphere, a widely circulated British weekly, the print was part of a broader effort to visually document contemporary cultural events. Its inclusion in the H. Beard Print Collection, now held by the Victoria and Albert Museum, reflects its value as a historical record of early 20th-century performance. The print survives as a rare visual artifact of the Ballet Russes’ brief London engagement.
Context
In 1914, the Ballet Russes was reshaping European dance with its bold choreography and design, though its London run was short-lived. Dadd’s image coincides with the company’s first appearance in Britain, just weeks before the outbreak of World War I. The print thus captures a fleeting cultural moment—when Russian avant-garde art met British public taste, before global conflict disrupted artistic exchange.
Legacy
Though not widely known outside archival circles, the print remains a key document of the Ballet Russes’ early influence in Britain. It illustrates how illustrated journalism helped disseminate images of modern performance to a broad audience. Its preservation in the V&A underscores its role as a primary source for studying the intersection of theater, print media, and early modernist aesthetics in pre-war Europe.
Artist & collection
