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Alexey Brodovitch’s ballet photographs use blur, grain, and unconventional cropping to dynamic effect. The series of images was made in the mid-1930s and published as an influential book in 1945. Best known as the innovative art designer for Harper’s Bazaar from 1934 to 1958, Brodovitch had an enormous influence in the worlds of design, art, and photography. His career began in Paris in the 1920s, painting backdrops for Diaghilev’s Ballet Russes. He moved to Philadelphia in 

1930 to teach, and in 1933 he began his  Design Laboratory, a workshop for advanced students that included photographers Richard Avedon, Diane Arbus, Lisette Model, and  Garry Winogrand.