Snapshots of the Past

Clown alley / Robert Riggs. – Vintage Print

Clown alley / Robert Riggs., [between 1930 and 1960(?)] — antique lithograph
Clown alley / Robert Riggs., [between 1930 and 1960(?)]. Antique lithograph from the Circus & Carnival collection.

(Originally scanned by the Library of Congress. Each image is professionally and digitally cleaned of artifacts such as color bars and extra borders prior to printing.)

Description

Step back in time with Clown alley / Robert Riggs., an antique lithograph rich in period detail. Sourced directly from the Library of Congress, it represents an authentic piece of documented history.

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Clown alley / Robert Riggs.

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This lithograph, titled *Clown Alley*, takes its name from the backstage area where circus clowns dressed, made up, and waited before going on. Robert Riggs, an American painter and printmaker, made a number of clown subjects during the 1930s and 1940s, and this print belongs to that interest in the performers' private world behind the spectacle. The record notes that the sheet is signed in pencil and on the stone, meaning the artist signed both the printed impression and the lithographic stone that produced it. The print's exact date is uncertain, but it falls within the period when American printmakers were using lithography to render everyday and popular entertainment subjects.

Created / published[between 1930 and 1960(?)]
Medium1 print : lithograph.
GenreLithographs 1930-1960.
NotesSigned in pencil and on stone.
SubjectsClowns--1930-1960.
SourceLibrary of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division
Original scan1,450 × 1,145 px · prints to 5 × 4 in at 300 dpi
ReferenceAMZ-SOTP-HPA-219183

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