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Perry Watkins - Case of Philip Lawrence: green bandeau and sheer skirt

Case of Philip Lawrence: green bandeau and sheer skirt (1934-1943)

Perry Watkins (American, 1907-1974 )
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License: All public domain files can be freely used for personal and commercial projects.
Why is this image in the public domain?
This work was commissioned by the United States federal government as part of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) program. It is not subject to copyright protection.

Perry Watkins was the first African American set designer on Broadway. He was also a stage painter, makeup and costume artist, producer, and film art director.

Born in Providence, Rhode Island on April 13, 1907, Watkins attended Hope High School where he and a friend hand wrote and decorated a daily newspaper called “The Foolscape.” Awarded a scholarship to study art at the Rhode Island School of Design in 1926, he studied figure drawing under Vincent Bernasconi and still life under Asa G. Randall, the school’s most prominent artists.

Despite having his paintings displayed at the Springfield (Massachusetts) Museum and the Providence Art Club, he struggled financially and worked as a waiter, chauffeur, insurance salesman, reporter, draftsmen, and commercial illustrator. By 1936, unemployed and broke, he applied to the Federal Theatre Project with a sample production, and was quickly employed.

Starting as a stagehand and becoming assistant technical director at Lafayette Theatre in New York City, he began a flurry of work, painting drops, dying costumes, and operating the lighting for several shows.

In 1939 Watkins made a breakthrough, becoming the first black Broadway set designer when he was commissioned by Guthrie McClintock for Mamba’s Daughters.

As a result of the show’s incredible success and a recommendation by Robert Edmond Jones, Watkins was permitted to take the drafting and art exam for admission into the Set Designer’s Union. He passed it easily and became the first African American to be admitted. In 1939 he taught in the Rose McClendon Workshop Theatre and the following year designed the set for the revival of The Big White Fog at Lincoln Theatre in Harlem.

Later in life he ventured into film and television, working on art direction and design for films such as Hercules in New York (1969) which debuted Arnold Schwarzenegger, Come Back, Charleston Blue (1972), the critically acclaimed blaxploitation film Across 110th Street (1972), and Gordon’s War (1973).

Perry Robert Watkins passed away August 14, 1974 in New York City at the age of 66.

In Collection: Federal Theatre Project (View all 1212)

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Free Shows in the Park (1934-1943)

Anonymous
Vaudeville: Dummy

Vaudeville: Dummy (1934-1943)

Emile Stoner (American, 19th/20th century)
From Dixie to Harlem: Steamboats in Harbor

From Dixie to Harlem: Steamboats in Harbor (1934-1943)

Williams George
Blood and Thunder: Sketch no. 4 (Picket Fence with Trees and Fields)

Blood and Thunder: Sketch no. 4 (Picket Fence with Trees and Fields) (1934-1943)

Paul Ouzounoff (Russian, ?-1942)
Pinocchio: Leopard. Leopard suit

Pinocchio: Leopard. Leopard suit (1934-1943)

Paul Cadorette (American, 20th Century)
Mr. Dooley, Jr.: Navy policeman’s uniform with peaked cap and nightstick

Mr. Dooley, Jr.: Navy policeman’s uniform with peaked cap and nightstick (1934-1943)

Rhoda Rammelkamp (American, 20th Century)
Emperor’s New Clothes: Maidens green gown with top shaped like leaves

Emperor’s New Clothes: Maidens green gown with top shaped like leaves (1934-1943)

Maxine Borowsky (American, 20th Century)
The Alcestis of Euripedes: Props – Pedastal and Tripod

The Alcestis of Euripedes: Props – Pedastal and Tripod (1934-1943)

John Glidden (American, 19th/20th century)
The Sun and I

The Sun and I (1934-1943)

Anonymous
Follow the Parade

Follow the Parade (1934-1943)

Anonymous
Button, Button: Unidentified Character in Green

Button, Button: Unidentified Character in Green (1934-1943)

Alex Jones (American, 19th/20th century)
Six Who Pass While the Lentils Boil: Queen

Six Who Pass While the Lentils Boil: Queen (1934-1943)

Peter Crosby
Horse Eats Hat

Horse Eats Hat (1934-1943)

Anonymous
Pinocchio: Bernard Rabbit Mortician

Pinocchio: Bernard Rabbit Mortician (1934-1943)

John Glidden (American, 19th/20th century)
Candide: Candide green and purple cape

Candide: Candide green and purple cape (1934-1943)

Alex Jones (American, 19th/20th century)
View all 1212 Artworks

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License: All public domain files can be freely used for personal and commercial projects. .
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