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Perry Watkins - Case of Philip Lawrence: Halter neck ballet dress and slippers

Case of Philip Lawrence: Halter neck ballet dress and slippers (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)

A Touch of Brimstone

A Touch of Brimstone (1934-1943)

Anonymous
Abstract Colors

Abstract Colors (1934-1943)

Anonymous
Vaudeville: Plan for Onstage Movement

Vaudeville: Plan for Onstage Movement (1934-1943)

James Stewart Morcom (American, 1906-2001)
The Magistrate: Sketch no. 4, Act III Scene 1

The Magistrate: Sketch no. 4, Act III Scene 1 (1934-1943)

Nels Astner (American, 19th/20th century)
Two-A-Day: Sketch no. 1 (Music-Themed Back Drop)

Two-A-Day: Sketch no. 1 (Music-Themed Back Drop) (1934-1943)

James Stewart Morcom (American, 1906-2001)
We Live and Laugh

We Live and Laugh (1934-1943)

Anonymous
Mikado

Mikado (1934-1943)

Anonymous
Machine Age: Mrs Lloyd

Machine Age: Mrs Lloyd (1934-1943)

Emile Stoner (American, 19th/20th century)
Blind Alley

Blind Alley (1934-1943)

Anonymous
On Top: Designed for Lillian Broderick. Black evening gown with high neck and no shoulders

On Top: Designed for Lillian Broderick. Black evening gown with high neck and no shoulders (1934-1943)

Emile Stoner (American, 19th/20th century)
The Black Crook: Zamiel

The Black Crook: Zamiel (1934-1943)

Sidney Carlyle (American, 19th/20th century)
Sing for Your Supper: Sixty Families. Dummy

Sing for Your Supper: Sixty Families. Dummy (1934-1943)

Mary Merrill (American, 19th/20th century)
Abstract Colors

Abstract Colors (1934-1943)

Anonymous
No More Peace: Napoleon

No More Peace: Napoleon (1934-1943)

Barry Farnol (American, 1908-1989)
The Little Mermaid: Octopuc blue-green

The Little Mermaid: Octopuc blue-green (1934-1943)

Robert Byrne (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. .
Why is this image in the public domain?
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