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Perry Watkins - Case of Philip Lawrence: Sue open backed black dress

Case of Philip Lawrence: Sue open backed black dress (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)

Trial By Jury: Drawing of a Hand

Trial By Jury: Drawing of a Hand (1934-1943)

Victor Zonoff
A Christmas Carol: Martha Crachit

A Christmas Carol: Martha Crachit (1934-1943)

Sally S. Tileston (American, 19th/20th century)
The Magistrate: Sketch no. 1, Act I Also Scene 2 of Act III (Domestic Interior)

The Magistrate: Sketch no. 1, Act I Also Scene 2 of Act III (Domestic Interior) (1934-1943)

Nels Astner (American, 19th/20th century)
The Emperor’s New Clothes

The Emperor’s New Clothes (1934-1943)

Anonymous
A Christmas Carol: Marley’s Ghost

A Christmas Carol: Marley’s Ghost (1934-1943)

Buell Fuller (American, 19th/20th century)
Love in Humble Life: Hero

Love in Humble Life: Hero (1934-1943)

Edward Gilbert (American, 19th/20th century)
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
New York Fireman: Red button shirt, purple trousers and red cap

New York Fireman: Red button shirt, purple trousers and red cap (1934-1943)

Lucie Gilligan
Vaudeville: Tramps and Disembodied Hands over Bridge and Hudson River

Vaudeville: Tramps and Disembodied Hands over Bridge and Hudson River (1934-1943)

James Stewart Morcom (American, 1906-2001)
Faustus

Faustus (1934-1943)

Anonymous
Created Equal: Sketch no. 18, Stereopticon Background (Red, White, and Blue)

Created Equal: Sketch no. 18, Stereopticon Background (Red, White, and Blue) (1934-1943)

Paul Cadorette (American, 20th Century)
Obscure Land:seascape with Dark Blue, Beiges, Red-Orange

Obscure Land:seascape with Dark Blue, Beiges, Red-Orange (1934-1943)

Walter Walden (American, 20th Century)
Kings in Nomania: Vavna

Kings in Nomania: Vavna (1934-1943)

Laura Levett (American, 19th/20th century)
Federal Drama Players

Federal Drama Players (1934-1943)

Anonymous
The Black Crook: Dove

The Black Crook: Dove (1934-1943)

Sidney Carlyle (American, 19th/20th century)
View all 1212 Artworks

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