Upcoming Events
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May 16Passport to Learning
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May 17Passport to Learning
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May 18Passport to Learning
- Full events calendar >
Twitter
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May 16th 2012, 11:55Hard hats please.We are under construction. Center for Art and Education underway. $4.5m in gifts announced too! http://t.co/nddhA1Ht
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May 15th 2012, 10:54@TylerGreenDC What about a lakeside beach? I'd bet that's where these folks are headed. http://t.co/MrgnyfKG
- Full twitter page >
Circus Figures and Circus Posters
Among the most popular exhibitions at Shelburne are two hand-carved wood circuses: the Roy Arnold Circus Parade and the Kirk Bros. Circus.
The Arnold Circus Parade has nearly 4,000 figures. It was made between 1925-55 and forms a parade over 500 feet long. The one-inch-to-one-foot scale figures include a myriad of clowns, acrobats, animals, and circus wagons that evoke the heyday of the circus era.
The Kirk Bros. Circus is a miniature three-ring circus with audience comprised of over 3,500 pieces. Edgar Kirk (1891-1956) fashioned the figures over 40 years using only a treadle jigsaw and penknife.
Shelburne Museum has more than 500 circus posters dating from 1870 to 1940. The imaginative, bright-colored posters advertise Barnum and Bailey, Ringling Brothers, and other major shows. Although not on permanent display, the posters are featured in changing exhibitions.