Tilly Losch
Other names: Losch, Ottilie Ethel (birth name); Carnanvan, Tilly
dancer, Choreographer, actress, painter
* in Vienna
† in New York City
After training to become a classical ballet dancer, Losch was engaged by the Vienna State Opera at 15. She joined Max Reinhardt on his tour to London and New York in 1927. She worked as a dancer, choreographer and actress in six Hollywood films. In 1939 Losch fell ill with depression, retreated from the limelight and began a painting career.
About the Estate
Losch bequeathed the most significant portion of her estate – documents, photographs, sketches and paintings – to the Max Reinhardt Archives at the State University of New York in Binghamton. After Peter Riva (Marlene Dietrich’s grandson) established contact, Louise Kerz gave us the small Losch Collection now at the Kinemathek, together with the estate of Dolly Haas.
It comprises six costumes from Losch’s own wardrobe, three purses and a large photograph of the dancer, taken by the photographer Trude Fleischmann. The Ullstein Verlag commissioned the photo during a photo session for the fashion magazine ‘Die Dame’ (published in issue no. 14, 1928). The garments are personal pieces of clothing by well-known American-French designers: Karen Stark (for Harvey Berin), Pauline Trigère, Geoffrey Beene and Main Bocher. The group is enhanced by an elegant evening gown, presumably from the 1940s, and a Japanese kimono. In the collection are also two sporty shoulder bags from the 1960s or 1970s and a small evening bag, which contains a ticket for the reopening of the Vienna State Opera in 1955. (Text: Barbara Schröter)
Content
Photography, Textile
Dimension
approx. 0.1 Shelf meter
Inv. No.
199715
Credit LineTilly-Losch-Archiv, Deutsche Kinemathek