Pip and Flip

Coney Island, Manhattan's beach refuge for the masses, appealed to Reginald Marsh for its energy and eccentrics and the opportunity it afforded to study the human body. His attraction to the carnivalesque is evident in Pip and Flip, where the circus sideshow is represented by banners and painted backdrops that depict the stars of the midway. One banner features the oversized exotic twins from Peru (who were actually Elvira and Jenny Snow, born in Georgia), a visual paradox when compared to an adjoining banner advertising "Major Mite," the smallest man on earth.

As in many of his compositions, Marsh presents in Pip and Flip a frieze-like stream of bodies in a compressed space and highlights the voluptuous female form often referred to as the "Marsh girl." Women are dressed for a hot summer evening in clothing so transparent as to reveal the curvaceous forms underneath. A parallel rhythm of legs in the center foreground recalls the Rockettes of Radio City Music Hall or the elaborate dance numbers of Busby Berkeley movies. "Mrs. Jack Legs Diamond," printed on top of the billboard, further declares the sexual undercurrent.

An excellent draftsman, Marsh appreciated the way translucent layers of egg tempera—a medium introduced to him by Thomas Hart Benton and one he employed throughout the 1930s—revealed the linear drawing beneath the color. His sources were his own photographs and sketches made on the spot and classical statuary. Marsh paid homage to the old masters, especially Michelangelo (1475–1564) and Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640), through his dramatic use of movement and space and rendering of bodies in an infinite variety of poses.

110th Annual Exhibition, National Academy of Design, New York, New York, March 13–April 9, 1935.

Reginald Marsh, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, New York (organizer). Venues: Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, New York, September 21–November 6, 1955; Columbus Gallery of Fine Arts, Columbus, Ohio, November 27–December 25, 1955; Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, Michigan, January 13–February 12, 1956; City Art Museum of St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, March 2–April 1, 1956; Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, Dallas, Texas, April 15–May 20, 1956; Los Angeles County Museum, Los Angeles, California, June 10–July 8, 1956; Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, California, July 25–August 26, 1956; San Francisco Museum of Art, San Francisco, California, September 13–October 14, 1956. [exh. cat.]

Four Centuries of American Art, Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis, Minnesota (organizer). Venue: Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis, Minnesota, November 27, 1963–January 19, 1964. [exh. cat.]

Paintings from the Huntington Hartford Collection, Huntington Hartford Museum (Gallery of Modern Art), New York, New York (organizer). Venue: Huntington Hartford Museum (Gallery of Modern Art), New York, New York, 1964. [exh. cat.]

Exhibition, Norton Gallery of Art, West Palm Beach, Florida, 1965.

Pop Art and the American Tradition, Milwaukee Art Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (organizer). Venue: Milwaukee Art Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, April 8–May 9, 1965. [exh. cat.]

Reginald Marsh, Bernard Danenberg Galleries, Inc., New York, New York (organizer). Venue: Bernard Danenberg Galleries, Inc., New York, New York, July 29–August 13, 1971. [exh. cat.]

Reginald Marsh: A Retrospective Exhibition, Newport Harbor Art Museum, Newport Beach, California (organizer). Venues: Newport Harbor Art Museum, Newport Beach, California, November 2–December 10, 1972; Des Moines Art Center, Des Moines, Iowa, January 8–February 18, 1973; Fort Worth Art Center Museum, Fort Worth, Texas, February 27–April 1, 1973; University Art Museum, University of Texas, Austin, Texas, April 15–May 13, 1973. [exh. cat.]

The Modern Spirit: American Painting 1908–1935, Arts Council of Great Britain in association with the Edinburgh Festival Society and the Royal Scottish Academy (organizer). Venues: Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh, Scotland, August 20–September 11, 1977; Hayward Gallery, London, England, September 28–November 20, 1977. [exh. cat.]

Center Ring: The Artist; Two Centuries of Circus Art, Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (organizer). Venues: Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, May 7–June 28, 1981; Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus, Ohio, August 30–October 11, 1981; The Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., April 24–June 6, 1982. [exh. cat.]

Reginald Marsh's New York, Whitney Museum of American Art at Philip Morris, New York, New York (organizer). Venues: Whitney Museum of American Art at Philip Morris, New York, New York, June 29–August 24, 1983; Terra Museum of American Art, Evanston, Illinois, September 10–October 30, 1983; San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose, California, November 13–December 13, 1983; Georgia Museum of Art, Athens, Georgia, January 8–February 19, 1984. [exh. cat.]

Masterworks in American Art from the Daniel J. Terra Collection, Terra Museum of American Art, Evanston, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Evanston, Illinois, April 27–September 12, 1985.

A Proud Heritage: Two Centuries of American Art, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venues: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, April 21–June 21, 1987. [exh. cat.]

Collection Cameo, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, August 1990.

Figures and Forms: Selections from the Terra Foundation for the Arts, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, May 9–July 9, 2000.

L'Amérique et les modernes, 1900–1950 (American Moderns, 1900–1950), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, July 25–October 31, 2000. [exh. cat.]

Selections from the Permanent Collection: Two Centuries of American Art, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, March 10–July 1, 2001.

Selections from the Permanent Collection: American Moderns, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, July 14–October 7, 2001.

Images from the World Between: The Circus in Twentieth-Century American Art, American Federation of Arts (organizer). Venues: Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, Connecticut, October 19, 2001–January 6, 2002; John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, Florida, February 1–April 14, 2002. [exh. cat.]

A Place on the Avenue: Terra Museum of American Art Celebrates 15 Years in Chicago, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, November 16, 2002–February 16, 2003 (on exhibit extended run: November 2, 2002–March 2, 2003).

The People Work: American Perspectives, 1840–1940 (Le Travail à l'oeuvre: les artistes américains, 1840–1940), Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venues: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, March 15–May 25, 2003; Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, June 8–August 17, 2003. [exh. cat.]

Copley to Cassatt: Masterworks from the Terra Collection, New Britain Museum of American Art, New Britain, Connecticut and Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: New Britain Museum of American Art, New Britain, Connecticut, September 5–December 7, 2003.

A Narrative of American Art, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, February 13–October 31, 2004 (on exhibit partial run: April 1–May 3, 2004).

The Great Parade: Portrait of the Artist as Clown, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario (organizer). Venue: National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, June 25–September 19, 2004. [exh. cat.]

Art in America: 300 Years of Innovation, Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, New York, New York and Terra Foundation for American Art, Chicago, IL (organizers). Venues: National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China, February 9-April 5, 2007; Shanghai Museum, Shanghai, China, April 30-June 30, 2007; Shanghai Museum of Contemporary Art, Shanghai, China, April 30-June 30, 2007 (Shanghai presentations ran concurrently); The Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow, Russia, July 23–September 9, 2007; Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Bilbao, Spain, October 15, 2007–April 27, 2008 (exhibited in Beijing and Shanghai; exhibited in Bilbao). [exh. cat.]

Swing Time: Reginald Marsh in the Thirties New York, New–York Historical Society & Museum, New York, New York (organizer); Venue: New–York Historical Society & Museum, June 21–September 2, 2013. [exh. cat.]

Coney Island: Visions of an American Dreamland, 1861–2008, Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, Connecticut (organizer). Venues: Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, Connecticut, January 31–May 31, 2015; San Diego Museum of Art, San Diego, California, July 11–October 13, 2015; Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, New York, November 20, 2015–March 13, 2016; McNay Art Museum, May 11–September 11, 2016.  [exh. cat.]

Pathways to Modernism: American Art, 1865–1945  Art Institute of Chicago and Terra Foundation for American Art (organizers). Venue:  Shanghai Museum, Shanghai, China, September 28, 2018–January 6, 2019.   [exh. cat.]

In the Streets: Modern Life and Urban Experiences in the Art of the United States, 1893-1976 (Pelas ruas: vida moderna e experiências urbanas na arte dos Estados Unidos, 1893–1976). Terra Foundation for American Art and Pinacoteca de São Paulo (organizers). Venue: Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil, August 27, 2022–January 30, 2023. [exh. cat.]

 

Blossom, Frederick A. "Reginald Marsh." Creative Art 12 (April 1933): 256–65. Ill. p. 263 (as Pip and Flip. Twins from Yucatan).

Seiberling, Dorothy. "Reginald Marsh: Swarming City Scenes by 'U.S. Hogarth' go on a Year-Long Tour of the Country." Life Magazine (February 1956): 80–86, 88. Ill. p. 80.

Frankfurter, Alfred. "Caviare? - New York's Newest Museum." Art News 63:1 (March 1964): 33–34. Ill. p. 34

Paintings from the Huntington Hartford Collection. (exh. cat., Huntington Hartford Museum (Gallery of Modern Art)). New York: Huntington Hartford Museum (Gallery of Modern Art), 1964. Ill. no. 481 (as Pip and Flip, Twins from Peru).

Atkinson, Tracy. Pop Art and the American Tradition. (exh. cat., Milwaukee Art Center). Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Milwaukee Art Center, 1965. Cat. no. 44, p. 15; ill. p.16.

Parke-Bernet Galleries, Inc., New York, New York (April 7–8, 1971): lot 79. Text p. 94; ill. lot 79 (color as Pip and Flip, Twins from Peru).

Goodrich, Lloyd. Reginald Marsh. (exh. cat., Bernard Danenberg Galleries, Inc.). New York: Bernard Danenberg Galleries, Inc., 1971. Cat. no. 4; ill. cover (color as Pip and Flip, Twins from Peru).

Garver, Thomas H. Reginald Marsh: A Retrospective Exhibition. (exh. cat., Newport Harbor Art Museum). Newport Beach, California: Newport Harbor Art Museum, 1972. Cat. no. 10 (color).

Brown, Milton W. The Modern Spirit. (exh. cat., Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh, Scotland). London, England: Arts Council of Great Britain, 1977. Cat. no. 140.

Schulze, Franz. "Terra Incognita: A New Museum of American Art." Art News 79:10 (December 1980): 84–87. Ill. p. 86 (color).

Jensen, Dean. Center Ring: The Artist; Two Centuries of Circus Art. (exh. cat., Milwaukee Art Museum). Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Milwaukee Art Museum, 1981. Text pp. 26, 65, 92 (checklist); ill. no. 66, p. 60 (color).

Ray, Alan. "Center Ring: The Artist." USA Today (January 1982): 34–39. Ill. p. 35 (color).

Cohen, Marilyn. Reginald Marsh's New York: Paintings, Drawings, Prints and Photographs. (exh. cat., Whitney Museum of American Art). New York: Whitney Museum of American Art, 1983. Text pp. 8, 12, 21, 24, 113 (checklist); fig. 130 (black & white), back cover (color).

Hemphill, Christopher. "Daniel Terra and His Collection." Town & Country (February 1984): 196.

Sokol, David M. "The Terra Museum of American Art, Evanston, Illinois." The Magazine Antiques 126:5 (November 1984): 1156–69. Pl. XXX, p. 1169 (color).

Atkinson, D. Scott et al. A Proud Heritage: Two Centuries of American Art. Edited by Terry A. Neff. (exh. cat., Terra Museum of American Art). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 1987. Pl. T-182, p. 291 (color).

Pip and Flip, Reginald Marsh. Collection Cameo sheet, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, August 1990. Ill. (black & white).

Cartwright, Derrick R. and Paul J. Karlstrom. American Moderns, 1900–1950. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2000. Text pp. 52, 61 (checklist); pl. 24, p. 52 (color).

Cartwright, Derrick R. and Paul J. Karlstrom. L'Amérique et les modernes, 1900–1950. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2000. Text pp. 52, 61 (checklist); pl. 24, p. 52 (color).

Gustafson, Donna. Images from the World Between: The Circus in 20th Century American Art. (exh. cat., American Federation of Arts). Cambridge, Massachusetts and New York: The MIT Press in association with the American Federation of Arts, 2001. Text pp. 48–50, 153, 172-73; ill. p. 51 (color).

Bourguignon, Katherine M. and Elizabeth Kennedy. An American Point of View: The Daniel J. Terra Collection. Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2002. Text pp. 182, 201; ill. pp. 183 (color), 201 (black & white).

Bourguignon, Katherine M. and Elizabeth Kennedy. Un regard transatlantique. La collection d'art américain de Daniel J. Terra. Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2002. Text pp. 182, 201; ill. pp. 183 (color), 201 (black & white).

Kennedy, Elizabeth. "The Terra Museum of American Art." American Art Review (December 2002): 126–41. Text p. 139; ill. p. 141 (color).

Bourguignon, Katherine M. and Elizabeth Kennedy. The People Work: American Perspectives, 1840–1940. (exh. cat., Terra Museum of American Art). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2003. Text pp. 10, 24, 29 (checklist); ill. p. 48 (color).

Bourguignon, Katherine M. and Elizabeth Kennedy. Le Travail à l'oeuvre: les artistes américains, 1840–1940. (exh. cat., Terra Museum of American Art). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2003. Text pp. 10, 24, 29 (checklist); ill. p. 48 (color).

The Great Parade: Portrait of the Artist as Clown. (exh. cat., National Gallery of Canada). Ottawa, Canada: National Gallery of Canada, 2004. No. 29, pp. 116-17 (color).

Spies, Kathleen. "'Girls and Gags': Sexual Display and Humor in Reginald Marsh's Burlesque Images." American Art 18:2 (Summer 2004): 32–57. Text p. 41; fig. 10, p. 43 (color).

Davidson, Susan, ed. Art in America: 300 Years of Innovation. (exh. cat., National Museum of China, Beijing; Shanghai Museum). New York, NY: Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation; Chicago, IL: Terra Foundation for American Art, 2007. (Chinese and English version; citing English version). Text p. 204; ill. p. 224 (color).

Davidson, Susan, ed. Art in the USA: 300 años de innovación. (exh. cat., Guggenheim Museum Bilbao). New York, NY: Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation; Chicago, IL: Terra Foundation for American Art, 2007. (Spanish version). Ill. p. 174 (color).

Higginbotham, Carmenita. At the Savoy: Reginald Marsh and the Art of Slumming. Bulletin of the Detroit Institute of Arts 82:1/2 (Summer 2008): 16-29. Text p. 22; ill. Fig. 7, p. 23 (color).

Southgate, M. Therese. The Art of JAMA III: Covers and Essays from the Journal of the American Medical Association. Chicago, Illinois: American Medical Association, 2011. Text pp.104, 207; ill. opposite p. 207 (color).

Exhibitions: l'invention du sauvage. (exh. cat. Musée du quai Branly). Paris: Musée du quai Branley, 2011. Ill. p. 255 (as "Pip and Flip" Barnum's American Museum, New York) (color).

Haskell, Barbara. Reginald Marsh and Thrities New York. American Art Review (June 2013): 92–97, 112. Ill, p. 95 (color).

Haskell, Barbara, ed. Swing Time: Reginald Marsh and Thirties New York. New York: New–York Historical Society, 2012. Text, p.101, 124; ill. fig 60, p. 100 (color).

Frank, Robin Jaffee. Coney Island: Visions of An American Dreamland, 1861-2008. (exh. cat., Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art). New Haven: Yale University Press in association with the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, 2015. Text pp. 94, 96, 97, 98-99, 165, 186; ill. pl. 68, p. 97 (color).

Frank, Robin Jaffee. "Coney Island: Visions of an American Dreamland." American Art Review 27:1 (February 2015): 78-83. Ill. p. 82 (color).

Frank, Robin Jaffee. "Visions of Coney Island." The Magazine Antiques. May/June 2015: 96-103. Text p. 100; ill. p.97 (color).

Weinberg, Jonathan. “Coney Island Forever.” Art in America (October 2015): 134–141. Text p. 137. Ill. p. 137 (color).

Pathways to Modernism: American Art, 1865–1945. (exh. cat. Shanghai Museum with Art Institute of Chicago and Terra Foundation for American Art). Shanghai: Shanghai Museum, 2018. Text p. 156; ill. p. 157 (color).

Bourguignon, Katherine M., and Peter John Brownlee, eds. Conversations with the Collection: A Terra Foundation Collection Handbook. Chicago: Terra Foundation for American Art, 2018. Text pp. 181–182, 213; fig. 5, p. 181; ill. p. 213 (color).

Piccoli, Valéria, Fernanda Pitta, and Taylor Poulin. Pelas ruas: vida moderna e experiências urbanas na arte dos Estados Unidos, 1893-1976. (exh. cat., Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo and Terra Foundation for American Art). São Paulo, Brazil: Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo, 2022. Text p. 84; pl. p. 94 (color).