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Sawdust and Spectacle: Under the Big Top in Small Town America

February 4 – April 21, 2010

The Ohio Arts Council’s Riffe Gallery will present Sawdust and Spectacle: Under the Big Top in Small Town America from February 4 – April 21, 2010. Curated by Sara Johnson, director, Southern Ohio Museum, this exhibition shines a spotlight on the glory days of the traveling circus in the United States from the late 19th century through the 1930s, focusing on its popularity in Midwestern states such as Ohio.

The exhibition features captivating imagery from Portsmouth native Clarence Carter and other major Ohio artists of the last century, as well as vintage circus posters and banners, toys, documentary photographs from the Ackerman Collection, the Carter Archives and other public and private Ohio collections, and an exquisite set of 13 circus dioramas by Sonny King, the son of a lion tamer. The various artworks and artifacts blend the grandiosity of the big top with the less-glamorous private lives of its performers. For more information on Sawdust and Spectacle please visit the press release.

Join the Riffe Gallery for the opening of Sawdust and Spectacle: Under the Big Top in Small Town America on February 4, 2010 from 10 a.m. – 8 p.m. Curator Sara Johnson will lead a tour of the exhibition on February 24, 2010 noon – 1 p.m. Artists in the show include: Gifford Beal, Clarence Holbrook Carter, Paul Lewis Clemens, James Gantt, Fred Johnson, Yvonne Twining Humber, Henry Keller, Sonny King, Walt Kuhn, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Angelo Pinto, A. Schoenhut and Co., Yeteve Smith, Steiff, Paul Anderson Trapp, Paul Travis and David C. “Snap” Wyatt.

The Ohio Arts Council’s Riffe Gallery will also hold a Family Day Workshop Sunday, February 21, 2010 from 2 – 4 p.m. Local artist Helma Groot will help children ages 6-17 construct circus mobiles using plywood templates of clowns, horses, elephants, dancers, lions and more! Participants will decorate the circus-themed shapes with paint, glue, glitter, paper and other festive supplies. Once shapes have been decorated, participants will construct them into a mobile, and take home their own kinetic sculpture. Registration is required as space is limited and all children must be accompanied by a registered adult. Registration begins February 4 and ends February 18, 2010 online at www.riffegallery.org.

Organized by the Southern Ohio Museum in Portsmouth, OH, Sara Johnson, Curator, with support from the Ohio Humanities Council, a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Scioto Foundation, the Ohio Arts Council, the Richard D. Marting Foundation and the City of Portsmouth.

The Riffe Gallery is supported by the Ohio Building Authority. Media Sponsors include CD101, CityScene, Ohio Magazine, Time Warner Cable and WCBE.

Free group tours are available Wednesday through Friday throughout the run of each exhibition. To schedule a group tour contact Riffe Gallery director Mary Gray at mary.gray@oac.state.oh.us or 614/728-2239.

The Ohio Arts Council’s Riffe Gallery showcases the work of Ohio’s artists and curators, exhibitions produced by the Ohio Arts Council’s International Program and the collections of the region’s museums and galleries. The Riffe Gallery’s Education Program seeks to increase public appreciation and understanding of those exhibitions. Admission is free. For information, call the Riffe Gallery at 614/644-9624.

There are 30 images contained within this archive that are intended for Riffe Gallery publicity/educational use only. These images are protected by a photographic copyright that belongs to the Ohio Arts Council. They, therefore, are not in the public domain. Please contact the Ohio Arts Council directly if you wish to inquire about obtaining reproduction permission. Dimensions are h x w.


Original Circus Poster Sells-Floto Circus, Buffalo Bill's Wild West, 41" x 27" The Immel Circus Collection Massillon Museum, Gift of Dr. Robert Immel	Original Circus Poster Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus, An Army of Clowns, 41" x 27" The Immel Circus Collection Massillon Museum, Gift of Dr. Robert Immel	Gifford Beal (1879-1956) Bareback Act lithograph, 6 1/2" x 9 3/4" The Butler Institute of American Art
	$image of a quilt by Pat Budge titled Refraction #17: About Herbin$
Clarence Carter (1904-2000) Behind the Tents, 1945 oil on canvas, 26 1/2" x 39 1/2" Southern Ohio Museum Gift of the Artist to Portsmouth School Children	Yvonne Twining Humber (1907-2004) Carnival, c. 1938 oil on canvas, 26" x 34" Courtesy Jason Schoen, LLC, Princeton, NJ	Original Circus Poster Cole Bros. Circus 41" x 28" The Immel Circus Collection Massillon Museum, Gift of Dr. Robert Immel

Original Circus Poster Cole Bros. Circus with Clyde Beatty 28 1/2" x 28" The Immel Circus Collection Massillon Museum, Gift of Dr. Robert Immel	Clarence Carter (1904-2000) Circus Horses, 1933 oil on canvas, 26" x 36" Cleveland Museum of Art Gift of Lillian M. Kern	Paul Travis Circus Detour, 1945 oil on canvas, 36" x 56" Collection of Mr. & Mrs. Richard A. Zellner

Photograph, c. 1930s Elephants with Trainer silver gelatin print, framed 8" x 8" From the Clarence Carter Snapshot Collection	Sonny King Four Horse Act with Colin Ross, 2005 painted polymer clay diorama 22 1/2" x 14" Collection of the Artist	Sonny King Mervyn King, Lion Act , 2005 painted polymer clay diorama 21 1/2" x 15" x 13 1/2" Collection of the Artist

Henry Keller (1869-1949) Make Ready for your Cue, 1928 oil on canvas, 36" x 49" Cleveland Museum of Art Gift of Mrs. R.J. Frackelton	Yeteve Smith (1888-1957) Harlequin, c. 1934 oil on canvas, 40" x 34" Collection of John and Susan Horseman	Sonny King Dental Act with Emily Kear and Joans Zalinksas, 2005 painted polymer clay diorama 14 3/4" x 22 1/2" x 14" Collection of the Artist

Photograph, c. 1930s silver gelatin print, framed 8" x 8" From the Clarence Carter Snapshot Collection	Sideshow Postcard Egyptian Fire Eater framed 8" x 8" The Immel Circus Collection Massillon Museum, Gift of Dr. Robert Immel	Clarence Carter (1904-2000) Merry Go Round, 1955 oil on canvas, 26" x 36" Southern Ohio Museum Gift of Dorothy W. Miller in memory of James B. Miller

Sideshow Postcard Zip, Barnum's "What Is It?" (in suit) framed 8" x 8" The Immel Circus Collection Massillon Museum, Gift of Dr. Robert Immel	Sonny King Unicycle Juggler (Viggo Christensen), 2006 painted polymer clay diorama 6" x 12" x 6" Collection of the Artist	Photograph, c. 1930s silver gelatin print, framed 8" x 8" From the Clarence Carter Snapshot Collection

Sideshow Postcard Ajax, the Sword Swallower framed 8" x 8" The Immel Circus Collection Massillon Museum, Gift of Dr. Robert Immel	James Gantt (1911-1984) Side Show, 1937 oil on canvas 43" x 29" Collection of John and Susan Horseman	Sideshow Postcard F.C. Roland, the Rubber Man framed 8" x 8" The Immel Circus Collection Massillon Museum, Gift of Dr. Robert Immel

Henry Keller (1869-1949) New Shoes for the Show , 1934 oil on canvas, 30" x 40" The Butler Institute of American Art	Original Circus Poster Hagenbeck-Wallace, Cristiani Troupe 41" x 27 3/4" The Immel Circus Collection Massillon Museum, Gift of Dr. Robert Immel	Sideshow Postcard Lionel, Dog Faced Boy framed 8" x 8" The Immel Circus Collection Massillon Museum, Gift of Dr. Robert Immel

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