There is one other image of this object. See our image rights statement.
Object Timeline
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1937 |
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1947 |
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1963 |
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2015 |
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2019 |
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2021 |
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2025 |
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Drawing, Costume Design: Death, for "Checkmate"
This is a Drawing. It was music composed by Arthur Bliss and designed by E. McKnight Kauffer and production directed by Ninette de Valois and made for (as the client) The Royal Opera House. It is dated ca. 1947 and we acquired it in 1963. Its medium is brush and gouache, graphite. It is a part of the Drawings, Prints, and Graphic Design department.
Kauffer’s colorful costumes and backdrops for the ballet Checkmate made headlines when the production debuted in 1937. He collaborated with choreographer Ninette de Valois and composer Arthur Bliss to produce a visually striking performance unlike any other. Militaristic choreography and the triumph of Death over Love in a combative chess game reflected political tensions in Europe at the time.
This object was
donated by
Mrs. Edward McKnight Kauffer.
It is credited Gift of Mrs. E. McKnight Kauffer.
- Costume, Black Queen for Checkmate
- costume.
- The Sarasota Ballet.
- 20.2020.1a/c
Its dimensions are
H x W: 51.1 × 39.4 cm (20 1/8 × 15 1/2 in.)
It is signed
Signed, in ink, lower right: E. McKnight Kauffer
It is inscribed
Inscribed in graphite, upper right: [line to helmet]: shiny blade; center right: gray=silver-shiny; in black ink, lower right: Death “Checkmate”
Cite this object as
Drawing, Costume Design: Death, for "Checkmate"; Music composed by Arthur Bliss (British, 1891–1975); Designed by Edward McKnight Kauffer (American, active England, 1890–1954); Production directed by Ninette de Valois (Irish, 1898–2001); Client: The Royal Opera House; USA; brush and gouache, graphite; H x W: 51.1 × 39.4 cm (20 1/8 × 15 1/2 in.); Gift of Mrs. E. McKnight Kauffer; 1963-39-275
This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Underground Modernist: E. McKnight Kauffer.
