Westport River Gallery

Posters Available: "All the World's a Circus"

Clowns, colors, noise, elephants & camels, cotton candy, jumping and swinging acrobats way above, the man in the cannon, and lots more. We have a small collection of original and reproductions of circus posters from $50 to $850 (for largest one at left). But none of the productions are more well know than Connecticut’s own PT Barnum. In 1871, former museum promoter and impresario PT Barnum (1810-91), in association with circus entrepreneur William Coup  (1837-95), launched the P.T. Barnum's Museum, Menagerie & Circus, a traveling show whose "museum" part was an exhibition of animal and human oddities soon to become an integral part of the American circus, the sideshow. In 1825, Joseph Brown became the first circus entrepreneur to replace the usual wooden construction with a full canvas tent, a system that had become commonplace by the mid-1830s. Click for source.

Central Park, the Jewel of New York City

Artist Wayne Shilson's latest works are of New York City's famed Central Park. At the a garden near the Conservatory, and at right the Boathouse area. He uses the time-consuming style of pointillism, the same painting style as George Seurat and Paul Signac. Shilson paints in acrylics, using tiny dots to bring an image alive. The award-winning artist, listed in International Biographical Centre Cambridge England, was named among the 2,000 Outstanding Artists and Designers of the 20th Century, and Who's Who in American Art. He was awarded an arts grant to paint and draw an updated version of the impressionist painter Camille Pissarro's urban landscape series in Paris.  Shown here are two among th series, both 16x20.

The Country's Shades of Grey by Mona

A small group of 8x10s in shades of grey has arrived, reflecting rural life, far from the maddening traffic, taxes and pressures of suburban and urban life. Mona is a US-born architectural perspectivist, whose work in the 80s and 90s for some of the most noted architectural firms was carried in National Geographic, The New York Times, Washington Post, House & Garden, Progressive Architecture, Architecture in Perspective and Interior Design. Today she creates bright landscapes, translucent woods scenes, rural bovines, and colorful blooming flowers. Known also for her colorful and simple barns from Vermont to the Midwest, Mona’s architectural-inspired training is evident. Sleek lines, swaths of color, and enticing compositions. Click to see others.