1954 Polack Bros. Circus Aerialists Facade Scenery Artwork Painting 11 Ft Banner For Sale

An extraordinary, monumental original American circus painting on canvas, signed Geo. E. Little, Sept. 1954, for Polack Bros. Circus portraying “Beauty on the Wing” aerial production by Barbette. Measuring approximately 11 1/2 feet by 4 feet, this hand-painted canvas depicts three beautiful female aerialists floating on butterfly wings through an elaborate Arabian Nights fantasy, complete with flowing silver-white drapery, an enchanted palace, domed towers, and a traditional genie lamp.Large-scale painted canvases of this type served as theatrical scenery and circus façade decoration, creating spectacular fantasy environments around performance areas, entrances, and attractions. By the 1950s Polack Bros. Circus was also performing at indoor arenas, and this painted banner was likely used as a temporary dressing to transform the large space.Beauty on the Wing was an aerial ballet created by the vaudeville icon, circus performer and choreographer, friend of Coco Chanel, and muse for Jean Cocteau, Barbette (Vander Clyde Broadway) for the Polack Brothers Circus in 1953. This production featured female aerialists suspended by their teeth while wearing enormous butterfly wings. Barbette had himself performed in an earlier butterfly-themed aerial act, Erford’s Whirling Sensation, featuring three winged performers suspended from a rotating apparatus. His productions combined extraordinary aerial techniques with sensuality, illusion, elaborate costuming, choreography, and theatrical spectacle.Painted canvas measures 138 inches by 51 inches. It is in original unrestored condition, exhibiting age and use-related wear, including creasing, cracking, paint loss, staining, discoloration, and damage to portions of the canvas and edges. Please examine all photographs carefully.Painting will be rolled for shipping.