One of a series of drawings by Ethelbert White (1891-1972) showing work backstage in a London theatre during a performance. This drawing illustrates a scene immediately before a performance of Le Tricorne (The Three-Cornered Hat), designed by Pablo Picasso and choreographed by Leonide Massine, during a season by Serge Diaghilev's Ballets Russes. It shows both performers and stage-hands, including a man operating a free-standing stage light from the wings.
From 1919 to the mid-1920s White was commissioned by the author and publisher, Cyril Beaumont, to design souvenirs and illustrate the publications that he was producing. In 1919 White illustrated Impressions of the Russian Ballet: The Three-Cornered Hat and it is probable that this drawing was made at the same time.
