Ernest de Weerth (21 August 1894 - 28 March 1967) was a Paris-born set and costume designer for the American theatre.
Early life and family
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Ernest de Weerth was born in Paris on 21 August 1894 to Helene de Weerth, formerly Helene Baltzell of Baltimore, who after marrying a Belgian, Ernest De Weerth Snr., lived most of her life in Europe. She was known for the salon she hosted at her home in Paris near the Place de l'Opera.[2][3] After her death in 1932, her son Ernest donated a collection of her 17th century Dutch and German paintings to the Baltimore Museum of Art where it is known as the Ernest de Weerth Collection.[4]
Career
editDe Weerth started his theatrical career as an assistant stage manager at the Neighborhood Playhouse but quickly moved into set and costume design.[2] He created costumes for Mary Garden and Max Reinhardt. In 1927 he devised four settings for Dan Totheroh's staging of Salome.[5]
In the late 1930s he made an offer on behalf of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini to buy Norman Bel Geddes' designs for his Streamlined Ocean Liner.[6]
In his later career he wrote reviews for Opera News.
Death and legacy
editHe died in Rome on 28 March 1967[3] and is buried there at the Campo Verano cemetery.
References
edit- ^ The Surgeon. Chrysler Museum of Art. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
- ^ a b Owen, Bobbi. (2010) Scenic Design on Broadway: Designers and Their Credits, 1915-1990. Greenwood Press, 1991. p. 50. ISBN 9780313265341
- ^ a b Opera News, Vol. 31, p. 149.
- ^ Maryland: A Guide to the Old Line State. New York: Oxford University Press. 1940. p. 243. ISBN 978-1-60354-019-3.
- ^ Theatre Arts, Vol. 11, Pt. 2, p. 489.
- ^ Szerlip, B. Alexandra. (2017) The Man Who Designed the Future: Norman Bel Geddes and the Invention of Twentieth-Century America. Brooklyn: Melville House. p. 132. ISBN 9781612195629
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