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Perry Watkins - Pinocchio: Gepetto’s Cottage

Pinocchio: Gepetto’s Cottage (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)

Machine Age: Miss Wilson

Machine Age: Miss Wilson (1934-1943)

Emile Stoner (American, 19th/20th century)
Vodvil Music Drama

Vodvil Music Drama (1934-1943)

Anonymous
New York Fireman: Purple coat, black trousers, black bowtie and black top hat

New York Fireman: Purple coat, black trousers, black bowtie and black top hat (1934-1943)

Lucie Gilligan
The Animal Kingdom

The Animal Kingdom (1934-1943)

Anonymous
Candide Inquisitors: Two figures in black and red with partial facial coverings

Candide Inquisitors: Two figures in black and red with partial facial coverings (1934-1943)

Alex Jones (American, 19th/20th century)
Swing It: Levee School Girls. Striped orange and purple dress with yellow sleeves

Swing It: Levee School Girls. Striped orange and purple dress with yellow sleeves (1934-1943)

Maxine Borowsky (American, 20th Century)
The Bishop Misbehaves

The Bishop Misbehaves (1934-1943)

Anonymous
Excursion

Excursion (1934-1943)

Anonymous
The Merry Wives of Windsor: Interior Set

The Merry Wives of Windsor: Interior Set (1934-1943)

James Doll (American, 19th/20th century)
Blind Alley

Blind Alley (1934-1943)

Anonymous
Shearman and Tailors(Nativity Drama)

Shearman and Tailors(Nativity Drama) (1934-1943)

Michael Adrian (American, 20th Century)
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 )
Mystery of the Broadwalk Asylum

Mystery of the Broadwalk Asylum (1934-1943)

Anonymous
The Mikado: Chorus #3 Miss Daly

The Mikado: Chorus #3 Miss Daly (1934-1943)

Maxine Borowsky (American, 20th Century)
It Can’t Happen Here

It Can’t Happen Here (1934-1943)

Anonymous
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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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