Lincoln Kirstein

Lincoln Edward Kirstein (1907–1996) was an American impresario, writer, and institution builder who created the organizational and cultural infrastructure that made classical ballet a durable part of American public life. Born in Rochester, New York, and raised in Boston, Kirstein demonstrated his gift for founding at Harvard, where he established the literary magazine *Hound & Horn* in 1927 and co-founded the Harvard Society for Contemporary Art with John Walker and Edward M. M. Warburg in 1928. After earning his bachelor's degree in 1929 and master's degree in 1930, he set out to build something larger: a permanent classical ballet tradition in the United States, rather than relying on imported European seasons.

Kirstein became convinced that such a tradition required a choreographer of uncommon gifts. After seeing George Balanchine's work, he met the Georgian-born artist in London in 1933 and invited him to America. Balanchine had a condition: a school must come first. The School of American Ballet opened on January 2, 1934, with Kirstein as president and Balanchine leading its artistic faculty. This decision—to build a training institution before a performing company—proved foundational to everything that followed.

The permanent company emerged through a series of practical experiments. American Ballet became resident at the Metropolitan Opera; Ballet Caravan, founded in 1936, toured American-made works including *Filling Station* and *Billy the Kid*, both with libretti by Kirstein; American Ballet Caravan toured South America in 1941. Each venture taught Kirstein about ballet production, touring logistics, and the possibility of American subjects and artists in classical form, even when the organizations themselves proved temporary.

In 1943, Kirstein enlisted in the United States Army. By 1945, he was serving with the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program as assistant to Captain Robert Posey in General Patton's Third Army, locating and protecting cultural property displaced or looted during the war. This work reflected the same conviction that animated his dance career: art required organized stewardship, documentation, and public responsibility.

After military service, Kirstein and Balanchine founded Ballet Society in 1946. A 1948 performance of *Orpheus* persuaded City Center to invite the company to become a resident organization under the name New York City Ballet, with Kirstein as general director. The independent School of American Ballet became the company's official school. In 1964, the company moved into the New York State Theater at Lincoln Center, designed by Kirstein's Harvard friend Philip Johnson and now known as the David H. Koch Theater. Kirstein's work extended beyond administration: he wrote criticism, history, poetry, libretti, and autobiographical works; founded the Dance Archives at the Museum of Modern Art in 1940; and edited *Dance Index* from 1942 to 1948. His papers and collections enriched the New York Public Library's dance holdings. Kirstein retired from his leadership posts in 1989 and died in New York City in 1996.