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Perry Watkins - Case of Philip Lawrence: Sue red suit-dress and black floor length coat

Case of Philip Lawrence: Sue red suit-dress and black floor length coat (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)

As You Like It

As You Like It (1934-1943)

Anonymous
The Puppet Circus

The Puppet Circus (1934-1943)

Anonymous
The Sun and I: Blue gown with beaded patterned neckline

The Sun and I: Blue gown with beaded patterned neckline (1934-1943)

B. House (American, 19th/20th century)
Pirates of Penzance: Daughter #6. Green dress with yellow sleeves, and hem

Pirates of Penzance: Daughter #6. Green dress with yellow sleeves, and hem (1934-1943)

Alex Jones (American, 19th/20th century)
Swing It: Gold Diggers. Black & white skirt, pink blouse, orange gloves, and black hat

Swing It: Gold Diggers. Black & white skirt, pink blouse, orange gloves, and black hat (1934-1943)

Maxine Borowsky (American, 20th Century)
What a Woman Wants

What a Woman Wants (1934-1943)

Anonymous
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)
Alice in Wonderland

Alice in Wonderland (1934-1943)

Anonymous
Interior of Medical Tent

Interior of Medical Tent (1934-1943)

Anonymous
The Return of David: David

The Return of David: David (1934-1943)

Mary Merrill (American, 19th/20th century)
String Fever(marionette): Black coat with green lapels

String Fever(marionette): Black coat with green lapels (1934-1943)

E. Moore (American, 19th/20th century)
The Weavers: Sketch no. 7 (Weaving Shop and Domestic Interior against City Rooftops, Color)

The Weavers: Sketch no. 7 (Weaving Shop and Domestic Interior against City Rooftops, Color) (1934-1943)

Frederick Stover (American, 20th Century)
Bethlehem: Chorus

Bethlehem: Chorus (1934-1943)

Rose Simon (American, 19th/20th century)
A Christmas Carol: Nightcap Scrooge

A Christmas Carol: Nightcap Scrooge (1934-1943)

Buell Fuller (American, 19th/20th century)
Me Third

Me Third (1934-1943)

Anonymous
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