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McGehee (Clarence) Collection on Ruth St. Denis
MS.P.025
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Contributing Institution:
Special Collections and Archives, University of California, Irvine
Libraries
Title: Clarence McGehee collection on Ruth St. Denis
Creator:
McGehee, Clarence
Identifier/Call Number: MS.P.025
Physical Description:
4.7 Linear Feet
(5 boxes)
Date (inclusive): circa 1908-1937
Abstract: The collection is comprised of
correspondence, typescripts, manuscripts, newspaper clippings, programs and ephemera
collected by Ruth St. Denis' publicist, Clarence McGehee. Most materials, including a
scrapbook of newspaper clippings, pertain to Ruth St. Denis and the Denishawn Dancers. Other
materials pertain to contemporaries of Ruth St. Denis in the dance world, including Ted
Shawn, members of Ballet Russe, Isadora Duncan, Martha Graham, Norma Gould and Trudi Schoop.
Also in the collection are clippings of an anonymous author's newspaper column; McGehee may
be the author. Items date from circa 1908 to 1937.
Language of Material:
English .
Collection is open for research.
Property rights reside with the University of California. Literary rights are retained by
the creators of the records and their heirs. For permissions to reproduce or to publish,
please contact the Head of Special Collections and Archives.
Clarence McGehee Collection on Ruth St. Denis. MS-P 25. Special Collections and Archives,
The UC Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California. Date accessed.
For the benefit of current and future researchers, please cite any additional information
about sources consulted in this collection, including permanent URLs, item or folder
descriptions, and box/folder locations.
Gift of Valerie Ormont in 1996.
Processed by Laura Clark Brown in 1997.
Clarence McGehee was a writer and publicist for Ruth St. Denis in the first decade of the
twentieth century. He collected materials primarily by and about Ruth St. Denis and also
gathered information on many of her dance contemporaries. McGehee was a resident of Redondo
Beach, California.
In 1911, several papers announced McGehee's engagement to Ruth St. Denis, but they never
married.
Collection Scope and Content Summary
The collection is comprised of correspondence, typescripts, manuscripts, newspaper
clippings, programs and ephemera collected by Ruth St. Denis' publicist, Clarence McGehee.
Most materials, including a scrapbook of newspaper clippings, pertain to Ruth St. Denis and
the Denishawn Dancers. Other materials pertain to contemporaries of Ruth St. Denis in the
dance world, including Ted Shawn, members of Ballet Russe, Isadora Duncan, Martha Graham,
Norma Gould and Trudi Schoop. Also in the collection are clippings of an anonymous author's
newspaper column; McGehee may be the author. Items date from circa 1908 to 1937.
The collection is organized in three series. Series 1 is comprised of correspondence
received by Clarence McGehee and Ruth St. Denis. Series 2 contains writings by unknown
authors and an essay purportedly written by Ruth St. Denis. Series 3, the largest series,
consists of printed items, including a scrapbook of clippings on Ruth St. Denis, loose
newspaper and magazine clippings, programs, playbills and flyers.
Series 3 is arranged in five subject subseries. The first three subseries overlap in
subject; the materials illustrate the careers of Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn and document
activities of their school, Denishawn, and the Denishawn Dancers. Subseries 3.4 represents
other major dancers, choreographers and companies of the era; the materials also include
information on relevant topics of world dance, including Native American and Latin American
dance. McGehee's collection contains numerous playbills from dance performances held in Los
Angeles area theatres. Most performances were by nationally or internationally renowned
companies such as Ballet Theatre and Ballet Russe. The final subseries contains materials
unrelated to dance, including articles and business cards collected by McGehee.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Dance -- United States -- History -- Sources
Modern dance -- United States -- History -- Sources
Dance -- Archives
Choreographers.
Dancers.
Dance cards
Scrapbooks
Dancers -- History -- Sources
St. Denis, Ruth -- Archives
Shawn, Ted
Duncan, Isadora -- Archives
Denishawn School of Dancing -- Archives