Corbino by Londraville Janis Londraville Richard & Richard Londraville

Author:Londraville, Janis,Londraville, Richard & Richard Londraville [Londraville]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781438435732
Publisher: State University of New York Press
Published: 2011-02-24T16:00:00+00:00

Chidsey wrote in his diary, “His domestic problems are now finally settled—and he told his Mother this morning. He just gave Janet everything she wanted and refused to contest anything.”

Corbino immersed himself in work. Ballet Décor was selected for the 120th Annual Exhibition at the National Academy (AD, 1 December 1945, 6), and his portrait drawing of a ballerina was chosen to appear on the December cover of the American Artist magazine. He had several other canvases to complete for shows scheduled in 1946, and hoped there would be no time to think about his ex-wife.

Corbino embraced a vigorous social life. He was single, a celebrity of sorts, and attracted to some of the lithe beauties who exuded physical liberation and absolute dedication to their art. Marcia Corbino said that he was seen “more than once tearing down Park Avenue in his Chrysler convertible filled with ballet dancers.” She explained that his favorite ballet was Swan Lake, which he often played while he was painting, and that several dancers he knew well were Moira Shearer, Melissa Hayden, and Marjorie Tallchief (an Osage Indian), who sent him a pair of her ballet shoes to use as models for a painting.

During the 1940s, Richard Pleasant, director of the Ballet Theatre group, provided selected painters—among them Corbino, Reginald Marsh, Raphael Soyer, and Grant Wood—free access to rehearsal rooms and performances.9 Like John Ringling North, Pleasant wanted his ballet documented in fine art, and Corbino was happy to participate.

Dudley Johnson, a friend who had returned from the war, arranged a weekend of partying to help Jon recover from his divorce: “I'm about ready for a good binge and am saving up for next weekend. So I say let's have plenty of whiskey, also girls, though the whiskey and the talk come first.” After one party, Corbino received a note of thanks from a woman who signed herself, simply, “Dancing Girl.”

But depression always followed. When his car needed some repairs, he wrote to Alan Chidsey, “The mechanic said that the valves weren't doing a lot … so the poor thing is having a job done. I wish he could do an overhaul job on me too, but he wasn't too eager. He said the car was enough, but for me—he wouldn't know where to get the parts.” Then there was more bad news—this time about his first wife. With no hope of a successful cancer treatment, Elaine returned to California with Rico, and on January 4, 1946, committed suicide by taking an overdose of sleeping pills. There is no record of Corbino's reaction, but one of his paintings exhibited during this period was called Elaine in Green Gloves. Its location today is not known.

On occasion, there were still moments of civility between him and Janet: “She seemed happy to see me,” Corbino wrote to Alan and Bill Chidsey on February 21, 1946. He had flown to Palm Beach for an exhibition of his work sponsored by Kleeman, and took a bus to Daytona Beach to visit Jackie and Peter.

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