Anna Pavlova (1881-1931), Ballet dancer

Sitter associated with 26 portraits
The Russian-born ballerina Pavlova trained at the Imperial Ballet School in St Petersburg and graduated in 1899. She first danced her incomparable Giselle at the Maryinsky Theatre in 1903 and took the role of Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty in 1908. Her most famous solo, The Dying Swan , was created for her in 1907 by Mikhail Fokine. She appeared briefly with the Ballets Russes but preferred to star in her own company and began to tour from 1908. She made her New York and London debuts in 1910, inviting comparison with her rival Adeline Genée. From 1912 she made London her base, living at Ivy House, Golders Green. Pavlova's ballets include Snowflakes (1915) and Autumn Leaves (1920).