Barbara Karinska

Barbara Karinska (1886-1983) was one of the most celebrated costume designers of her generation. Her work for film, theater, opera, and dance helped shape the visual identity of an era.

Karinska was one of George Balanchine’s closest collaborators. Balanchine once said of her: "There is Shakespeare for literature and Karinska for costume." She worked with renowned artists such as Agnes de Mille, Bronislava Nijinska, Jerome Robbins, Louis Jouvet, Franco Zeffirelli, Mike Todd, Victor Fleming, and George Cukor. Among the highlights of her career were her designs for George Balanchine’s Jewels and a new version of the ballet Firebird for the New York City Ballet in 1970, for which she based her work on the original designs by Marc Chagall.