A GRAND GIFT FOR CIRCUS MUSEUM

A grand mural that matches the splendor of “ The Greatest Show on Earth” has been donated to the Ringling Museum by Kenneth Feld. Feld is Chairman and CEO of Feld Entertainment, the parent company of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey, and new member of the Ringling Museum board. Stretching 42 feet wide by 22 feet high, the mural was commissioned by Feld in 1989 to be the centerpiece of the company’s corporate headquarters in Vienna, Virginia. Completed in 1990, the artist, William Woodward, captured the excitement and magic of the circus in the massive two story painting while also documenting the Ringling show of the 1970s and 1980s. For two years, Woodward followed the circus and sketched the faces, the acts, the wardrobe and the animals of the colossal show. The life-sized mural has a cavalcade of comic clowns, high flying aerialists, wonderful wire walkers, ponderous pachyderms, leaping lions, dancing tigers and beautiful prancing horses. A closer look reveals Dolly Jacobs on the rings; Lou Jacobs with his dog, Peewee; Frosty Little; and Gunther Gebel-Williams on top of the great elephant King Tusk. William Woodward is professor emeritus at George Washington University, where he initiated the painting program at the University in 1969. He noted that “murals are the best examples of planned pictures. The creative process for painting a mural is like writing a musical composition and then performing it on stage.” In January 2013, the mural will be unveiled in the entranceway of the Circus Museum’s Tibbals Learning Center. Exhibits throughout the Circus Museum buildings are indebted to the passionate collectors, like Howard Tibbals, who have donated to the Museum. From a beautiful collection of lithographs born out of a passion for the performing arts to a set of photographs, letters, and contracts that documented the life of a circus performer, these donations help bring the stories of the circus to life.

Celebrate Circus Weekend: View the mural of The Greatest Show on Earth

Saturday, January 19

Circus Mural, The Greatest Show on Earth by Wm. Woodward, opens for public viewing, 10:00 am Circus Museum’s Tibbals Learning Center

Annual Windjammers Concert 2:00 pm, Museum of Art Courtyard

Word Becomes Flesh

“Many choreographers attempt to tackle social issues; few interweave their own stories in a way that makes sense. Word Becomes Flesh makes for a searing, satisfying evening.” – The Washington Post