Artwork Title: Wonderland Circus, Sideshow Coney Island

Wonderland Circus, Sideshow Coney Island, 1930

Reginald Marsh

That Marsh’s canvases seem to vibrate is due not only to his staccato brush strokes and bright, reflective colors, but also to his choice of subject matter. Rather than portray New York City’s elite, Marsh turned to everyday people and entertainments. Favorite subjects included burlesque and Vaudeville performers, pedestrians and, yes, public beaches. Marsh used the beach as a way to show average city-dwellers at play. An example is the arresting Wonderland Circus, Sideshow Coney Island from the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art. Painted in 1930, the piece shows crowds on the Coney Island boardwalk jostling in front of the entrance to a sideshow circus. Performers beckon to the passersby. Some are amazed, while others appear too involved in their own personal dramas to notice the one unfolding next to them. (https://artstor.wordpress.com/2014/05/29/reginald-marshs-coney-island/)
Uploaded on Sep 28, 2016 by Suzan Hamer

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