Chicago businessman and photographer.

Eugene Olshansky attended the City College of New York, and in the 1930s he began taking pictures of ballets staged at the Metropolitan Opera House. Having gotten himself appointed as a supernumerary, Olshansky situated himself in the prompter’s box and managed to capture many performances of the Ballet Russe. In 1937 he moved to Chicago to enroll in the University of Chicago, where he received an advanced degree in chemistry in 1939. While a student, he continued to photograph dance companies that came to Chicago, including the Original Ballet Russe (i.e. the company managed by Col. W. de Basil), the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo (i.e. the company headed by Leonide Massine), and the Littlefield Ballet.

Olshansky had pictures published by numerous newspapers and magazines, including the Chicago Tribune. While photography was Olshansky’s avocation, industrial chemistry was his business. He established and ran a company called Science Products, which manufactured garden pesticides. Olshansky died in 1996.