Martha Joan Swope (February 22, 1928 – January 12, 2017) was an American photographer of theatre and dance. She died from Parkinson’s disease on January 12, 2017 at the age of 88.
Table of Contents
- 1 Personal life
- 2 Career
- 2.1 In media
- 2.2 Awards and achievements
- 2.3 Alyson Reed"MARILYN" (Monroe) the Musical 1983 Broadway FLOP Martha Swope Double-Weight Press Photo
- 2.4 CANDIDE - THE COMPLETE WORDS AND MUSIC OF THE DRAMA CRITICS AWARD WINNING BROADWAY MUSICAL
- 2.5 Vintage Photos Fernando Bujones Marianna Tcherkassky La Sylphide Martha Swope NYC 8X10
- 2.6 Vintage Photos 1989 Swan Lake American Ballet Theater New York City Martha Swope 8X10
- 2.7 More Broadway Musicals: Since 1980
- 2.8 Paul Sorvino "THE BAKER'S WIFE" Stephen Schwartz 1976 Martha Swope Press Photo
- 2.9 Patti LuPone "THE BAKER'S WIFE" Paul Sorvino 1976 FLOP Martha Swope Press Photo
- 2.10 A Day In Hollywood, A Night In The Ukraine: Vocal Selections, Piano, Vocal, Guitar, Songbook
- 2.11 Dean Jones"COMPANY" Stephen Sondheim/Martha Swope 1970 Double-Weight Broadway Press Photo
- 2.12 Martha Graham: Portrait of the Lady as an Artist
- 2.13 More interesting reads:
Personal life
She lived in a brownstone upon 72nd street in New York City. She used her bathroom as a darkroom and her closet was her film developing room. Besides ballet and photography, Swope had an enormous passion for animals and travel. She rescued and took care of stray dogs. One of her dogs was named “Topo”. When she unconventional moved to Manhattan Plaza upon West 43rd, she adopted a greyhound mixture named “Bert”.
She as a consequence visited a sundry combination of places, such as Africa, Switzerland, and Italy. Although Swope had a dynamic and caring spirit, she was also enormously private virtually her personal energy and actually avoided going to the theatre “because of crowds”.
Career
Her photography career started in 1957, when Jerome Robbins invited her to photograph rehearsals for West Side Story. Soon afterwards, Lincoln Kirstein hired her as the first attributed photographer for the New York City Ballet. She photographed famous figures in the dance world such as George Balanchine, Michael Bennett, Joe Papp, and David Merrick. She was known for taking photos onstage while posed in the fourth position. She documented higher than 800 productions in her lifetime. To her, rehearsals were “where you see the creativity and the interchange, how it grows to what it comes to be onstage”.
She stopped taking photos in imitation of she retired in 1994, saying that “now I think it’s somebody else’s era”.
In media
Her photographs have been featured in many notable newspapers and journals, including Life magazine and the New York Times. She donated her archive of 1.5 million images to the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at the Lincoln Center in 2010.
Awards and achievements
In 2004, Swope customary a Tony Honor for Excellence in Theater award, and in 2007, she was truth a lifetime achievement great compliment from the League of Professional Theater Women.
More interesting reads:
- None Found
Last update 2021-08-06