Anthony Thieme. Circus at Night, undated
Anthony Thieme is best known for the marine and landscape paintings that he created in 1930s , '40s and '50s in Rockport, Maine.
Thieme loved painting in Rockport, but he called St. Augustine, Florida “the most paintable city in the U.S.” In 1947, Thieme and his wife bought a home in St. Augustine, They traveled around Florida, making a trip across the state to Sarasota, which was the winter home of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus. Sarasota is now home to the Ringling Museum of Art and is a permanent home for many of the past circus performers.
Thieme’s paintings of the circus, currently on view at the Harn Museum at the University of Florida in Gainesville, are more relevant than ever; The RIngling Bros. circus was shut down five years ago after a nearly 150-year run. Financial troubles and protests about the circus’ treatment of animals in captivity, especially elephants, led to its closure.
Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey plan to modernized the circus and begin a tour of the United States in September 2023, without animals. The circus will be reimagined, using extraordinary human talent and new technologies.
Anthony Thieme’s Circus Paintings are part of Florida Impressions, an ongoing exhibit at the Harn Museum.
Otis Kwame Kye Quaicoe is one of the most interesting and successful artists working in America today. His coming to the U.S. was serendipitous; he met his wife, who lives in Portland, on Facebook. They fell in love, and he moved from the warm climate of Ghana, to the cold, wet climate of Oregon.
In a recent interview at the Phoenix Art Museum, Quaicoe, explained how going to the theater, to watch American movies when he was young, changed his dream of become a professional soccer player to becoming a painter.
He said that the movie posters outside of the theater fascinated him. As he studied them more closely, and touched them, he realized that they were actual paintings and not printed posters. He asked about them and discovered that they were done by a group of a local artists. Eventually, Quaicoe met the artists. They encouraged him to pursue a career in art.
His works have been shown in galleries and museums around the world. The Phoenix Art Museum recently acquired a new work of Quaicoe’s, to add to the others already in the permanent collection. The work is part of the Black Cowboy Series, which he began to explore while doing a residency at the Rubell Museum in Miami in 2021.
References:
Sheldon Gardner. 'A beautiful history': St. Augustine exhibit includes paintings of bygone city life. The St. Augustine Record. May 15, 2022.
Bill Chappell. The Ringling Bros. circus is coming back, with human acts in the center ring. NPR. May 18, 2022.
