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Mabel E. Johnston
Jazz Age Dancer Illustration by Broadway Designer Mabel E. Johnston

c. 1920s

About the Item

Mabel E. Johnston Untitled, c. 1930s Watercolor and pencil on paper Sight: 12 1/2 x 10 1/2 in. Framed: 21 1/8 x 17 1/4 x 1/2 in. Signed lower right: Mabel E. Johnston The first tidbit I found comes from the Forty-Sixth Annual Report of the Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art, noting that a Mabel Emma Johnston graduated with a diploma from the Department of Industrial Art at the Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art in 1922. She was awarded two prizes for costume design in the competition “Good Taste in Dress for Young Girls.” Less than a year after her graduation, Johnston got her first job for Broadway designing costumes for the 1923 musical comedy Sun Showers. Johnston worked fairly steadily on Broadway throughout the 1920s, designing mostly for musical comedies and revues. Johnston also did designs for The Merry Malones, which was written and produced by, and starred George M. Cohan in 1927. In 1940, Johnston was elected vice-president of the Theatrical Costume Designers Union, a division of the United Scenic Artists. Despite a prolific output during the 1920s, Johnston all but disappeared from Broadway theater after 1929. Her final Broadway credit is from the 1941 play My Fair Ladies where she served as costume supervisor, but her last Broadway job before that was in 1933. She collaborated on costumes for Olga Baklanova and Bela Lugosi, stars of the musical Murder at the Vanities, in what was also her last design credit. Biographical information sourced from the Museum of the City of New York
  • Creator:
    Mabel E. Johnston (American)
  • Creation Year:
    c. 1920s
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 21.125 in (53.66 cm)Width: 17.25 in (43.82 cm)Depth: 0.5 in (1.27 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
    Not examined outside of the frame.
  • Gallery Location:
    New York, NY
  • Reference Number:
    Seller: BL51stDibs: LU2211212552472

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