Theatre on Paper

The Drawing Center's exhibition Theatre on Paper, was the largest exhibition of designs from the Theatre Museum in London, and explored theatre design from 1608 to the end of the 20th century, and included drawings for sets, costumes, stage properties, posters, and programs. The exhibition featured 113 drawings by such artists as: Giulio Parigi (1571–1635), Jean Louis Berain (1637–1711), Ferdinando Galli da Bibiena (1697–1743), Clarkson Stanfield (1794–1867), Léon Bakst (1866–1924), Edward Gordon Craig (1872–1966), Natalia Goncharova (1881–1962), Pablo Picasso (1881–1973), Alexandra Exter (1882–1949), Juan Gris (1887–1927), Giorgio de Chirico (1888–1978), Paul Nash (1889–1946), Leslie Hurry (1909–1978), and David Hockney (1937–2026). All works were borrowed from the Theatre Museum in London, a branch of the Victoria and Albert Museum, which had one of the richest collections of theatre designs in the world.

The exhibition was unique in that it examined theatre design from a thematic rather than chronological perspective. The purpose was to define, compare, and contrast various styles and techniques used by designers over a period of more than 300 years. Exhibition highlights included Léon Bakst's stage furniture for Le Spectre de la Rose (1911); Alexandre Benois' costume design for Vaslav Nijinsky as Petrushka (1936); Roger Furse's costume design for Laurence Olivier in King Lear (1946); and Picasso's designs for Léonide Massine as the Chinese Conjurer in Parade (1917). There were also a number of costume designs by Daniel Rabel and his studio.