| Ref No | DWE/A |
| Title | DWE Arts |
| Description | Much of the series consists of Dorothy Elmhirst's correspondence with artists and performers involved with Dartington Hall, between about 1927 and 1968. Many of the letters tend to be personal and reflect Dorothy Elmhirst's role as a patron of the arts. Additional material such as obituaries, has been subsequently added, so that the files have become a good biographical resource for their subjects.
Major subjects and correspondents in the Painters and Art Galleries subseries cover artists, critics and art galleries, including: Ben Nicholson; Barbara Hepworth; H S (Jim) Ede of Kettle's Yard (Cambridge); Frances Hodgkins; John Piper; Graham Sutherland; Kenneth Clark; Angna Enters. There is material about purchases of paintings by Christopher Wood, David Jones, and of other art works.
Material in the Handicrafts subseries includes correspondence with printer Guido Morris; artist and educationalist Robin Tanner; and textile printer and designer Susan Bosence.
Dartington Arts Department records cover minutes and papers 1942-1950; there are Arts Enquiry and other arts-related reports in this subseries. Also 'The Arts at Dartington' by Dorothy Elmhirst and printed by Guido Morris. There is also correspondence with Norbert Brainin and a Guarnerius violin purchased by Dorothy Elmhirst for him.
Material in the Music subseries includes a quantity of correspondence from Benjamin Britten to Peter Cox and Dorothy Elmhirst, including discussion of Elmgrant funding towards productions of Dido and Aeneas, 1951, and Ruth and Boaz (by Lennox Berkeley), 1956; and Aldeburgh Festival Appeal auction, to which the Elmhirsts donated a painting by Duncan Grant. Other music correspondents and topics covered include Hans Oppenheim; Music Theatre Studio; Dartington Hall Music Group; Nannie Jamieson; Ronald K Anderson; Muriel Taylor; Robert Masters; Peter Pears. Material also covers details of student concerts; music recital programmes; Dorothy Elmhirst's music notebook c1920; reports by Imogen Holst. There is also a bundle of correspondence re London Boy Singers (previously Finchley Boys' Choir) between Imogen Holst, Leonard Elmhirst, Rosamund Strode, London Boy Singers. Also in this subseries is the original manuscript of the 'Five Flower Pieces' by Benjamin Britten, opus 46; and 'Truth of All Truths', manuscript by Gustav Holst.
Dance material correspondents and topics covered include: Uday Shankar; Rudolf Laban, Lisa Ullmann and the Laban Art of Movement Centre; Martha Graham; the Ballet Rambert; Marie Rambert; Louise Soelberg; Margaret Barr and the early School of Dance-Mime; Jenny Gertz; Kurt Jooss and the Ballets Jooss; F A Cohen; Sigurd Leeder; the Jooss-Leeder School of Dance; Beryl de Zoete; performances at Dartington. Later records relating to the Ballets Jooss include a transcript of a 1973 interview with Kurt Jooss describing how the Ballet came to Dartington Hall before World War II.
Drama was a particular interest of Dorothy Elmhirst, and the Arts Drama subseries includes collections of letters from and about Vera Bowen; Rupert Doone; Ashley Dukes; Reginald Pole; F G Thomas and the rural theatre; puppeteer Richard Odlin; actor, producer and poet, Maurice Browne and Ellen van Volkenburg; Nellie Cornish. There are documents relating to the Globe and Queens Theatre and other theatres.
There is a substantial quantity of material relating to Michael Chekhov, including correspondence, class and lecture notes, and other writings. There are Chekhov Theatre Studio prospectuses; student lists; some administrative material; lessons given at Ridgefield, Connecticut; and notebooks kept by Dorothy Elmhirst together with audio recordings of interviews and lectures given by Michael Chekhov in 1955. There is detailed correspondence between Michael Chekhov and Dorothy Elmhirst; other correspondents include Beatrice Straight and Deirdre Hurst du Prey.
Also included in these drama papers is Dorothy Elmhirst's notebooks for the classes that she regularly gave about Shakespeare, and her collection of theatre programmes from performances at Dartington and at professional and amateur theatres around Britain, dating from the late 1920s to 1968.
The files in this series include press cuttings, printed material and some photographs. |
| Date | 20th century |
| Subject | Handicrafts |
| Textile arts |
| Theatre |
| Dance |
| Patronage of the arts |
| Artists |
| Drama |
| Painters |
| Paintings |
| Art galleries |
| Printing |
| Arts administration |
| Music |
| Musicians |
| Musical performances |
| Movement education |
| Dance-mime |
| Ballet |
| Refugees |
| Dance education |
| Theatrical performances |
| Puppets |
| Actors |
| Drama education |
| Cultural education |
| Rural cultural activities |
| Indian dance |
| Related Material | Trust Arts records also contain important correspondence between Dorothy Elmhirst and other artists and performers. An unpublished book-length manuscript, 'The Arts at Dartington', by Auberry Pryor, 1963, can be found in DWE/L/E. |
| Format | Manuscript |
| Person_Code | 384 |
| NA467 |
| NA472 |
| 378 |
| 198 |
| NA489 |
| NA503 |
| NA518 |
| NA515 |
| 416 |
| NA460 |
| NA461 |
| NA459 |
| NA520 |
| NA422 |
| NA522 |
| 183 |
| 262 |
| NA425 |
| NA539 |
| NA540 |
| NA418 |
| NA519 |
| NA553 |
| 413 |
| 334 |
| 349 |
| DS/UK/674 |
| NA420 |
| DS/UK/669 |
| NA458 |
| DS/UK/654 |
| DS/UK/727 |
| NA424 |
| DS/UK/703 |
| NA563 |
| 412 |
| 415 |
| NA554 |
| NA431 |
| NA426 |
| NA528 |
| NA525 |
| NA535 |
| 157 |
| 362 |
| DS/UK/657 |
| DS/UK/732 |
| DS/UK/733 |
| DS/UK/735 |
| DS/UK/736 |
| DS/UK/737 |
| DS/UK/738 |
| DS/UK/739 |
| DS/UK/643 |
| DS/UK/764 |
| 330 |
| 340 |
| NA445 |
| DS/UK/668 |
| NA529 |
| Code | PersonName | Dates |
| GB/DHT/384 | Elmhirst; Dorothy Whitney Straight (1887-1968) | 1887-1968 |
| NA467 | Nicholson; Ben (1884-1982) | 1884-1982 |
| NA472 | Hepworth; Dame; Barbara (10 Jan 1903-20 May 1975) | 10 Jan 1903-20 May 1975 |
| 378 | Wood; Christopher (1901-1930) | 1901-1930 |
| 198 | Ede; (Jim) Harold Stanley (1895-1990) | 1895-1990 |
| NA489 | Jones; David (1895-1974) | 1895-1974 |
| NA503 | Bosence; Susan (18 Apr 1913-16 Feb 1996) | 18 Apr 1913-16 Feb 1996 |
| NA518 | Morris; Guido | |
| NA515 | Glatz; Helen Hunter (1908-1996) | 1908-1996 |
| 416 | Oppenheim; Hans (-1965); Musician and Conductor | -1965 |
| NA460 | Jamieson; Nannie (1904-) | 1904- |
| NA461 | Taylor; Muriel | |
| NA459 | Masters; Robert | |
| NA520 | Anderson; Ronald Kinloch (1911-1984) | 1911-1984 |
| NA422 | Britten; Benjamin | |
| NA522 | Pears; Peter | |
| 183 | Cox; Peter (- 13 Apr 2015) | - 13 Apr 2015 |
| 262 | Laban; Rudolf Jean Baptiste Attila von (1879-1958) | 1879-1958 |
| NA425 | Ullmann; Lisa | |
| NA539 | Enters; Angna (1907-1989) | 1907-1989 |
| NA540 | Graham; Martha (1894-1991) | 1894-1991 |
| NA418 | Chekhov; Michael (1891-1955) | 1891-1955 |
| NA519 | Robert Masters Quartet | |
| NA553 | Ballets Jooss; c.1924-1965 | c.1924-1965 |
| 413 | Cohen; Fritz (Frederick) (1904-1967) | 1904-1967 |
| 334 | Soelberg; Louise (1903-1994) | 1903-1994 |
| 349 | Tanner; Robin (1904-1988) | 1904-1988 |
| DS/UK/674 | Dartington Hall Trust; Music Theatre Studio; 1938-1939 | 1938-1939 |
| NA420 | Holst; Imogen Clare (1907-1984); Musician | 1907-1984 |
| DS/UK/669 | Holst; Gustav (1874-1934) | 1874-1934 |
| NA458 | Strode; Rosamund | |
| DS/UK/654 | Laban Art of Movement Centre; 1954- | 1954- |
| DS/UK/727 | Rambert; Dame; Marie (1888–1982) | 1888–1982 |
| NA424 | Barr; Margaret (1904-1991) | 1904-1991 |
| DS/UK/703 | School of Dance-Mime; 1932-1935 | 1932-1935 |
| NA563 | Gertz; Jenny | |
| 412 | Jooss; Kurt (1901-May 1979) | 1901-May 1979 |
| 415 | Leeder; Sigurd (1902-20 Jun 1981) | 1902-20 Jun 1981 |
| NA554 | Jooss-Leeder School of Dance; 1934-1940 | 1934-1940 |
| NA431 | Zoete; Beryl de (1879-1962) | 1879-1962 |
| NA426 | Odlin; Richard (Dickie) (-1958) | -1958 |
| NA528 | Thomas; F G | |
| NA525 | Bowen; Vera (-1967) | -1967 |
| NA535 | Cornish; Nellie C (1876-1956) | 1876-1956 |
| 157 | Browne; Maurice (1881-1955); Actor | 1881-1955 |
| 362 | Volkenburg; Ellen van (1883-1979) | 1883-1979 |
| DS/UK/657 | Chekhov Theatre Studio; 1936-1942 | 1936-1942 |
| DS/UK/732 | Hodgkins; Frances (1869-1947) | 1869-1947 |
| DS/UK/733 | Piper; John (1903-1992) | 1903-1992 |
| DS/UK/735 | Sutherland; Graham (24 Aug 1903-17 Feb 1980) | 24 Aug 1903-17 Feb 1980 |
| DS/UK/736 | Clark; Sir; Kenneth (1903-1983); Kt | 1903-1983 |
| DS/UK/737 | Dukes; Ashley (1885-1959) | 1885-1959 |
| DS/UK/738 | Doone; Rupert (1903-1966) | 1903-1966 |
| DS/UK/739 | Pole; Reginald William (1887-1971) | 1887-1971 |
| DS/UK/643 | Arts Enquiry; 1941 | 1941 |
| DS/UK/764 | Dartington Hall Music Group | |
| 330 | Shankar; Uday (1900-1977) | 1900-1977 |
| 340 | Straight; Beatrice Whitney (1914- 2001) | 1914- 2001 |
| NA445 | Prey; Deirdre Hurst du (1906-2007) | 1906-2007 |
| DS/UK/668 | Brainin; Norbert (1923-2005); musician | 1923-10 Apr 2005 |
| NA529 | Globe and Queen's Theatres Ltd; c1929-1962 | c1929-1962 |