Eugenie Gershoy, The Very Strong Man, 1936-1940, polychromed dextrine, 23 x 13 7⁄8 x 9 5⁄8 in. (58.4 x 35.2 x 24.5 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Erwin P. Vollmer, 1985.6
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Artwork Details
- Title
- The Very Strong Man
- Artist
- Date
- 1936-1940
- Location
- Dimensions
- 23 x 13 7⁄8 x 9 5⁄8 in. (58.4 x 35.2 x 24.5 cm.)
- Credit Line
- Gift of Erwin P. Vollmer
- Mediums
- Mediums Description
- polychromed dextrine
- Classifications
- Subjects
- Figure male
- Fantasy
- Animal — elephant
- Performing arts — circus — strong man
- Object Number
- 1985.6
Artwork Description
During the late 1930s, Eugenie Gershoy began working for the Works Progress Administration in New York. A friend of hers, the artist Max Spivak, was designing a series of murals for a children’s library in Astoria, Long Island. Gershoy decided to create colorful figurines to go along with Spivak’s paintings. These sculptures depicted circus characters posed in a variety of impossible feats, including the figures in Ill-Fated Toreador, who dangles precariously from a bull’s horn, and The Very Strong Man, who lifts an elephant above his head while balancing on one toe. The library was so pleased with the work of Gershoy and Spivak, they rebuilt the space into an oval to emphasize the circus setting.