Lincoln Kirstein: An American Influence: The Photographs of Walker Evans & Henri Cartier-Bresson at the New York City Ballet

This thesis explores the work of Walker Evans (1903–1975) and Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908– 2004) in relation to the New York City Ballet (NYCB) and its co-founder, Lincoln Kirstein (1907–1996). Kirstein, a respected author and critic, supported numerous creative mediums, artists, and photographers. However, despite his friendship and sponsorship of Evans and Cartier-Bresson, their photographs of Kirstein’s dance company have remained relatively unknown. This lacuna invites a reexamination of their work at the NYCB, with an emphasis on Kirstein’s influential relationship with each photographer. In addition to supplementing scholarship on Evans and Cartier-Bresson, this thesis is accompanied by an illustrated catalogue containing all known images related to the NYCB by both photographers, reproducing the majority of this work for the first time. This thesis thus aims to produce a significant contribution to not only our knowledge of Evans and Cartier-Bresson’s oeuvres, but also twentieth-century American art and culture.