Firebird back cloth

Travelling dance company Ballets Russes commissioned experimental artist Natalia Goncharova to produce this backdrop for their production of 'The Firebird'. Goncharova’s style was inspired by folklore and religious icons, which suited the ballet’s retelling of Russian fairytales. When items belonging to Ballets Russes went on sale in 1967, supporters of London’s theatre history formed the Friends of the Museum of Performance and purchased
many objects. Recognising the company’s influence on British dance, the group gifted this backcloth to the V&A in 1976.