Mielziner, Jo

Extract

Mielziner, Jo (19 March 1901–15 March 1976), stage designer, was born in Paris, France, the son of Leo Mielziner, a portrait painter, and Ella MacKenna Friend, a fashion and arts journalist and the first female member of the Foreign Press Association. (The last name is pronounced mellzeener.) In 1909 the family moved to the United States, where Mielziner was enrolled in the Ethical Culture School in New York City. He also studied for one year at the National Academy of Design and the Art Students League. In 1915 he was awarded a scholarship to study at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Except for a brief stint in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War I, he remained at the academy until 1919. That year the academy awarded him a Cresson traveling fellowship, which allowed him to tour Europe, then the center of innovation in theatrical and stage design. His travels brought him into contact with designers Oscar Strand in Vienna, famous for having invented a rotating stage, and Gordon Craig in Italy. Mielziner was awarded a second Cresson in 1922....