This is a painting of a stylized puppet or clown figure with articulated limbs. The image features an intricately painted puppet in a clown costume, predominantly blue with colorful, ornate patterns, and standing on elongated, thin legs. It holds what appears to be a bottle in one hand. The puppet's expression is jovial, with pronounced red cheeks and an exaggerated smile. Additionally, there are smaller depictions of the puppet to the right, one showing it from a more distant perspective and the other highlighting the puppet's head in profile view, emphasizing the painted features.
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This is a painting of a stylized puppet or clown figure with articulated limbs. The image features an intricately painted puppet in a clown costume, predominantly blue with colorful, ornate patterns, and standing on elongated, thin legs. It holds what appears to be a bottle in one hand. The puppet's expression is jovial, with pronounced red cheeks and an exaggerated smile. Additionally, there are smaller depictions of the puppet to the right, one showing it from a more distant perspective and the other highlighting the puppet's head in profile view, emphasizing the painted features.

National Gallery of Art · Index of American Design

"Drunken Clown" Puppet

Verna Tallman

Date
c. 1937
Medium
watercolor and graphite on paper
Dimensions
overall: 35.6 x 28 cm (14 x 11 in.) Original IAD Object: 50" high
Classification
Index of American Design · Drawing
Accession number
1943.8.15683
Credit line
Index of American Design
Time span
1926 to 1950
Department
CG-W

Subjects and terms

  • San Francisco
  • American

NGA object ID 27774. Collection metadata is reproduced under CC0. This work is included because its NGA published-image record is marked open access; visitors should recheck the source record before substantial reuse.