Merle Armitage | |
---|---|
Born | 1893
Iowa, U.S. |
Died | March 15, 1975
Yucca Valley, California, U.S. |
Nationality | American |
Occupation(s) | tour manager, set designer, opera producer, art collector, author, book designer |
Children | 1 |
Merle Armitage (1893 - March 15, 1975) was an American set designer, tour manager, theater producer, opera producer, art collector, [1] author, and book designer.
Armitage was born in 1893 in Iowa. [2]
Armitage became a theater set designer in New York City. [2] He was the tour manager for the Scotti Grand Opera Company, the Russian Grand Opera Company, [3] and The Beggars Opera. [4] He co-founded the Los Angeles Grand Opera Association in 1924, and he was its manager until 1930. [4] [3] He managed the Los Angeles Philharmonic Auditorium, from 1933 to 1939. [2] From 1933 to 1934 he was director of the Public Works of Art Project's Region 14, California south of Paso Robles. [5]
Armitage was the editorial and art director of Look magazine, [6] and he was the president of the American Institute of Graphic Arts in 1951. [2] He designed and authored many books, including Saints and Saint Makers, Operatic Masterpieces, Operations Santa Fe, and Burro Alley. [4] He authored two books about Igor Stravinsky and a book about George Gershwin, two men whose tours he managed. [3]
Armitage was married four times, and he had a daughter, Chama. [3] He died on March 15, 1975, in Yucca Valley, California, at age 82. [4] [3] [6]