Grand Hotel (original title: Menschen im Hotel) is a novel by Vicky Baum, published in 1929. The author adapted her novel for the stage in 1930. In the same year, the play opened on Broadway with Eugenie Leontovich playing the role of Grusinskaia, an ageing ballet diva. Born in Russia, Eugenie Leontovich (1900-1993) came to New York in 1922. Edward Steichen portrayed her as Grusinskaia in Grand Hotel, the role that made her a Broadway star. This photograph, while made in the same sitting and being very similar to the Vanity Fair portrait, was not published.