Legendary Theatrical Designer's Sketches Now Available at The New York Public Library for Performing Arts

	Jo Mielziner

The talents of theatrical designer Jo Mielziner helped shape the visual styles of some of the best remembered shows in Broadway history, including Guys & Dolls and Death of a Salesman. Now for the first time, visitors to The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center will able to view the biggest private collection of Mielziner's work, from rough pencil sketches to finished scenic renderings.

The Library recently acquired the collection from Tony award-winning lighting designer Jules Fisher, who began collecting Mielziner's work upon the designer's death in 1976. "Jo Mielziner was an inspiration to me from the beginning of my career," says Fisher. All together he has accumulated an impressive 150 renderings, including the original set designs to Guys and Dolls and Gypsy. Apart from Broadway, Mielziner also designed the venue for the AT&T Pavilion at the 1939 New York World's Fair.

The collection also illustrates Mielziner's aptitude for illuminating the stage. "Most people know of him as a great scenic designer," says Fisher. "True, but he also designed the lighting for every one of his shows. Each show was beautifully lit. I wanted to emulate his ability of using light to enhance the storytelling." The collection highlights some of the earliest examples of Mielziner's expressionist technique regarding lighting effects, such as renderings for 1929'sThe Red General and 1934's Yellow Jack and Emperor Jones.

"The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts is honored to be the new home for Jules Fisher's remarkable collection of Jo Mielziner works, and to make them available to the public for the first time ever," says Jacqueline Z. Davis, executive director of The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. "Now, the Library's collections offer scholars, performers, students, and others an opportunity to see the artistic vision in Jo's renderings alongside the technical drawings that outline how he brought that vision to life on stage."

Further information on The Jules Fisher Collection of Jo Mielziner Designs can be found at the URL below.