Summary Information
Robert Edmond Jones Designs
1933
1951
- Jones, Robert Edmond, 1887-1954
U.S. Mss 54AN
1.0 c.f. (oversize files)
Wisconsin Historical Society Archives / Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research Contact Information
Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)
Set designs by noted stage designer Robert Edmond Jones, including two sets of blueprints for a 1951 production of The Green Pastures, a ground plan for The Green Bay Tree (1933), and an unidentified watercolor.
English
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-us0054an ↑ Bookmark this ↑
Biography/History
Robert Edmond Jones, called “the most influential artist-designer in the modern theater,” was born in Milton, New Hampshire on December 12, 1887. At an early age he withdrew from rugged farm life, and his mother, a musician herself, allowed him to develop his artistic talents. From 1906 to 1910 he attended Harvard University, where Kenneth MacGowan introduced him to traditional and experimental theater.
In order to develop his skills, Jones traveled to Europe in 1913, settling in Berlin. His talents matured, he returned to the United States in 1914 and was shortly thereafter chosen to design the sets for the Anatole France play, The Man Who Married a Dumb Wife. With this venture he began a long and fruitful association with Arthur Hopkins. In 1916, at the request of Nijinsky, he became the first American to design sets for the Russian ballet. Jones also designed the sets for Richard III (1920), which some consider his greatest triumph, Macbeth (1921), Green Pastures (1929), Othello (1943), and The Lute Song (1946). In addition to ballet and the theater, Jones also was a scenic designer for operas, such as Allan Berg's opera, Wozzeck (1931).
Jones is especially noted for his scenic designs for Eugene O'Neill's plays. These include The Hairy Ape (1921), Desire Under the Elms (1924), The Great God Brown (1925), and Mourning Becomes Electra (1931). His involvement in all aspects of experimental theater was broad. From 1923 to 1925, he was associated with the Experimental Theater in Provincetown, and later with the Greenwich Village Theater. In 1933, he moved to Hollywood where he assumed a major role in the development of technicolor.
Jones is credited with developing the “new stagecraft,” a dramatic departure in set designing from the earlier realism. In the “new stagecraft,” he attempted to achieve a wholly new integration of the background with the spirit of the play in order to project more fully the playwright's thoughts. He emphasized the essentials, eliminating obscuring details. Jones expanded his theory of set design in his only book, The Dramatic Imagination (1941).
Jones' achievements won him many honors. In 1925, he won the Howland Memorial Prize awarded by Yale University, and in 1936, he was awarded the Fine Arts Medal by the American Institute of Architecture.
In 1933, Jones married Margaret Huston Carrington. They had no children. He died on November 26, 1954.
Source: Current Biography Yearbook, 1946
Scope and Content Note
The collection contains only fragmentary evidence of Jones' contribution to the field of set design. Included are blueprints for stage sets of Green Pastures, a ground plan for The Green Bay Tree, and an unidentified set rendering.
The blueprints for Green Pastures consist of two sets of designs, one on blue papers and the other on white papers. Much of the white set duplicates the blue, but neither set is complete. In each set, the designs are arranged in a numerical sequence.
Administrative/Restriction Information
Presented by Mason Arvold via A. A. Ostrander, New York, New York, 1962; by Morgan Farley, Los Angeles, California, 1968; and by Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne, Genesee Depot, Wisconsin, 1975. Accession Number: MCHC62-084, MCHC68-095, MCHC75-154
Processed by MFF, 1965, and Christine Rongone, 1979.
Contents List
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U.S. Mss 54AN
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Green Pastures (1929) Blueprints
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White sheets
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Plan
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1: First draft, June 23, 1950
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1: Second draft, June 26, 1950
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1: Revision, June 29, 1950
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3: Lighting equipment layout, June 19, 1950
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4: Drapery and framed border, details, June 21, 1950
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5: Portal and returns, details, June 21, 1950
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5A: False floor, details, June 19, 1950
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6: Cloud legs, details, June 26, 1950
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7: Cloud borders and legs, details, June 26, 1950
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9: Sunday school, June 23, 1950
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11A: Fish fry tree, June 26, 1950
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20: God's office, undated
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24: Noah's house, undated
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24A: Noah's house, details, undated
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26: Noah's ark and waves, undated
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26A: Noah's ark, details, undated
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31: Throne room, details, June 22, 1950
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38: Hezdrel wall, details, June 22, 1950
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Blue sheets
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Plan
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1: , Undated
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1: Revision, October 16, 1950
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2: Section, October 16, 1950, revision
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4: Drapery and framed border, details, June 21, 1950
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4A: Foliage borders and woodwings, permanent ground row, details, June 26, 1950
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4B: Framed black devetyn drop and border, October 16, 1950
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5A: False floor, details, June 19, 1950
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6: Cloud legs, details, June 26, 1950
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7: Cloud border and lets, details, June 26, 1950
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8: Plans, Sunday school, July 5, 1950
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9: Sunday school, June 23, 1950
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9A: Sunday school, undated
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10: Plan, fish fry, November 1, 1950, revision
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11: Ramp and pearly gates, detail, October 18, 1950
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11A: Fish fry tree, June 26, 1950
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11B: Pearly gates - post, full size detail, October 18, 1950
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11C-D: Pearly gates, details (2), October 22, 1950
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13: Plan, garden, July 3, 1950
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18: Road slide, details, set pieces, September 18, 1950
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19: Plan, God's office, November 1, 1950, revision
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20: God's office, November 1950; January 4, 1951, revision
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20A: Sky backing, office, November 16, 1950
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21: Plan, roadside, November 1950
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23: Plan, Noah's house, November 1950
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24: Noah's house, November 1950
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24A: Noah's house, details, November 1950
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24B: Black drop for Noah's house, November 1950
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25: Plan, Noah's ark hillside, July 5, 1950
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26: Noah's ark and waves, November 1, 1950
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26A: Noah's ark, details, November 1, 1950
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27: Plan, Noah's ark at sea, July 5, 1950
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28: Plan, cave, September 21, 1950
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29: Returns for cave scene, November 13, 1950
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30: Plan, throne room, July 3, 1950
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31: Throne room, details, June 22, 1950
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31: Throne room, details, January 4, 1951, revisions
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31A: Throne room, banners, copy 1, copy 2, November 13, 1950
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32: Plan, marching scene, November 1, 1950, revision
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32: Plan, marching scene, January 26, 1951, revision
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33: Marching scene, hill details, September 18, 1950
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33A: Marching scene, step details, January 26, 1951
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34: Plan, night club, October 16, 1950, revision
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35: Night club elevation, June 23, 1950
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37: Plan, Hezdrel, July 1950
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38: Hezdrel wall, detail, June 22, 1950
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39: Ark animal heads, January 16, 1951
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The Green Bay Tree (NY: Cort Theatre, 1933)
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Item File A63
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Ground plan, circa 1933
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Item File Size D
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Unidentified set rendering, undated
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