Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 10

Jo Mielziner
"Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" Original Broadway Set Design Mid 20th Century American

1955

About the Item

Jo Mielziner (1901 – 1976) "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof," 7 ½ x 11 ½ inches. Pencil on paper. Label verso from Richard Stoddard, Dated June 18. 1996. Mr. Joe Warfield. Jo Mielziner, preliminary pencil sketch for "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof," 1955. This is an authentic original design by Jo Mielziner, consigned for sale by the heirs to his estate. Signed Richard Stoddard. Added to the listing are two production photos of the original production that depict the set designed by Mielziner. BIO Joseph Mielziner was the son of artist Leo Mielziner and Ella Lane McKenna Friend, a writer. Mielziner was the brother of actor-director Kenneth MacKenna. Their paternal grandfather was a rabbi. He studied painting at the Art Students League and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. His brother recruited him as a stage manager for summer stock, where Mielziner discovered his passion for scenic design. With fellowships he received from the Pennsylvania Academy, he had the opportunity to study set design in Paris, Vienna, and Berlin. Additionally, he served as an apprentice to Robert Edmond Jones, designer of Eugene O'Neill's Desire Under The Elms. Mielziner was considered one of the most influential theatre designers of the 20th century, designing the scenery and often the lighting for more than 200 productions, many of which became American classics. After his education and spending 13 months in Europe "absorbing the revolutionary changes occurring in traditional stage design", in 1923 he worked for the Theatre Guild in New York as an assistant stage manager and bit actor. Mielziner's Broadway debut as a designer was in 1927 with The Guardsman, for which he designed the scenery and lighting. His other Broadway credits include the original productions of Sweet and Low, Of Thee I Sing, Another Part of the Forest, Winterset, Oh, Captain!, Dodsworth, Strange Interlude, Carousel, South Pacific, Guys and Dolls, The King and I, A Streetcar Named Desire, Death of a Salesman, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Gypsy, and The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, as well as the film Picnic and the ballet Who Cares?. He won the Academy Award for best color art direction for his work on Picnic. In the course of his career, Mielziner won seven Tony Awards and was nominated for another five. He also won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Set Design. His influence extended outside of the theatre. He was acquainted with the American artist Edward Hopper, who is said to have modeled his well-known painting Early Sunday Morning (1930) after Mielziner's set for Elmer Rice's play Street Scene, produced in 1929. Mielziner designed the theater at Wake Forest University and co-designed the Vivian Beaumont Theater at Lincoln Center with architect Eero Saarinen. He designed the setting for the Vatican Pavilion's showing of Michelangelo's Pietà at the 1964 New York World's Fair. He resided for many years at The Dakota and can be seen working in his studio in an exterior shot in the film Rosemary's Baby. He died on March 15, 1976, in a New York taxicab four days before his 75th birthday. He was rushing between meetings for The Baker's Wife, a musical for which he was designing.
  • Creator:
    Jo Mielziner (1901 - 1976, American)
  • Creation Year:
    1955
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 13 in (33.02 cm)Width: 17 in (43.18 cm)Depth: 1 in (2.54 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    New York, NY
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU1156210033442

More From This Seller

View All
"Daughters of Atreus" Broadway Play Set Design Drawing American Modernism WPA
By Jo Mielziner
Located in New York, NY
"Daughters of Atreus" Broadway Play Set Design Drawing American Modernism WPA. 8 x 10 ¾ inches. Graphite on paper, 1936. Initialed on lower right. The play opens October 14, 1936 at Broadway’s 44th Street Theatre. Handwritten title, date, and signature on lower center of original matte which is now affixed to the verso. Inscription on lower right of matte reads, "For Prince & Barbara - Jo Mielziner...
Category

1930s Performance Interior Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Graphite

"My Fair Lady" 1958 West End Theatre Costume Drawing Mid 20th Century Modern
By Cecil Beaton
Located in New York, NY
"My Fair Lady" 1958 West End Theatre Costume Drawing Mid 20th Century Modern Cecil Beaton (1904 – 1980) "My Fair Lady," Pen and ink on paper. ...
Category

1950s Performance Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Ink, Pen

"King & I" Orig 1951 Broadway Drawing Published NYT Tony Awards Mid 20th Century
By Albert Al Hirschfeld
Located in New York, NY
"King & I" Orig 1951 Broadway Drawing Published NYT Tony Awards Mid 20th Century Al Hirschfeld (1903 – 2003) "The King and I," 14 3/4 x 30 inches. Ink on board. Signed lower right. ...
Category

1950s Performance Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Ink, Board

Morris Carnovsky "Counterattack" 1943 Broadway Play Theatre Caricature Drawing
Located in New York, NY
Sam Norkin's original illustration for COUNTERATTACK, 1943, featuring Morris Carnovsky; ink on paper, dimensions: 19 ¾” x 15 ½”. Unframed. Samuel Norkin (1917-2011) was a Brooklyn, New York-born cartoonist who specialized in theatre caricatures for more than seven decades. His drawings of theatre, opera, ballet and film celebrities appeared in Variety, Backstage, The Philadelphia Enquirer, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe and many other publications. Norkin learned composition and anatomy from the muralist Mordi Gassner...
Category

1940s Performance Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Ink, Board

Meryl Streep John Lithgow "Secret Service" 1976 Off Broadway Theatre Caricature
Located in New York, NY
Meryl Streep, John Lithgow and others starred in the Phoenix Theatre Company's Off-Broadway production of "Secret Service." This original 14 x 29 inch drawing by Sam Norkin was published in the New York Daily news on April 11, 1976. Samuel Norkin (1917-2011) was a Brooklyn, New York-born cartoonist who specialized in theatre caricatures for more than seven decades. His drawings of theatre, opera, ballet and film celebrities appeared in Variety, Backstage, The Philadelphia Enquirer, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe and many other publications. Norkin learned composition and anatomy from the muralist Mordi Gassner...
Category

1970s Performance Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Ink, Gouache, Board

Gwen Verdon "Redhead" Original Caricature Drawing NY Times Published Tony Awards
By Albert Al Hirschfeld
Located in New York, NY
Gwen Verdon "Redhead" Original Caricature Drawing NY Times Published Tony Awards Al Hirschfeld (1903 – 2003) Gwen Verdon in "Redhead" Sight: 14 1/2 x 19 inches Ink on board Signed l...
Category

1950s Performance Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Ink, Board

You May Also Like

The Dining Table - Original Pencil Drawing by Herta Hausmann - Mid-20th Century
Located in Roma, IT
The Dining Table is an original pencil drawing on ivory-colorated cardboard by Herta Hausmann (1916-?). In excellent conditions: As good as new. This is an original drawing represe...
Category

Late 20th Century Modern Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pencil, Paper

French Fashion: Two Ladies, a drawing by Horace Vernet, 1814
By Émile Jean-Horace Vernet
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Horace Vernet (French, 1789-1863) Two Ladies Standing, 1814 Watercolor on paper, 8 x 6 1/4 inches Framed: 15 x 13 inches (approx.) Signed and dated at lower right: "H.Vernet--1814."...
Category

1810s Realist Interior Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Watercolor, Pencil

"Marketplace Cashier #44" - interior drawing - colorful work on paper - Daumier
By Eilis Crean
Located in Atlanta, GA
"Marketplace Cashier #44" features hues of pink, blue, yellow and black. This work on paper is mounted to a wood panel and framed in a simple wood floater frame. The frame measures 13 by 9.75 inches. Eilis Crean is inspired by the works of Honoré-Victorin Daumier, Evie Hone, Patrick Pye, Milton Avery, William Kentridge, Joan Snyder, Jennifer Bartlett, Judy Pfaff and Sarah Sze...
Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Archival Paper, Wood, Color Pencil

Hat in Hand
By Robert McIntosh
Located in West Hollywood, CA
A rare, early original drawing by American artist Robert McIntosh(1916-2010) McIntosh was extremely prolific and exhibited throughout his lifetime, including first prize awarded a...
Category

1930s Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Graphite, Paper

The Dethroning / Italian School, 18th Century
Located in Middletown, NY
Graphite and grayish ink wash on bluish wove paper, 7 x 10 1/2 inches (177 x 265 mm) (matrix). Scattered surface soiling, adhesive residue, dog-eared corners, and scattered edge tears along left margin, outside of image area. Paper is braced on the verso with two pages from a mid 19th century book with illustrations by C.Perrin. One image depicts a scene of a group of soldiers representing the Holy Roman Empire...
Category

Late 18th Century Italian School Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Ink, Handmade Paper, Graphite

"Hospital Worker #3" - interior drawing - colorful work on paper - Daumier
By Eilis Crean
Located in Atlanta, GA
"Hospital Worker #3" features hues of pink, blue, yellow and black. This work on paper is mounted to a wood panel and framed in a simple wood floater frame. The frame measures 13 by 9.75 inches. Eilis Crean is inspired by the works of Honoré-Victorin Daumier, Evie Hone...
Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Wood, Archival Paper, Color Pencil

Recently Viewed

View All