Robert Riggs

Phil Desind (acquired directly from the artist)
Sale:  Sotheby's, New York, November 30, 2000, lot 198
Acquired by the present owner at the above sale

Bethesda, Maryland, Capricorn Galleries, A Robert Riggs Retrospect, November-December, 1969

SURFACE: in good condition UNDER ULTRA VIOLET: a few scattered spots of inpainting at upper left and upper right
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

As a boy growing up in Decatur, Illinois at the beginning of the twentieth century, Robert Riggs became enchanted with the circus.  Though he appears not to have run away to join one, as is sometimes claimed, the excitement of the big top inspired his drawings, which he began sketching in his youth and which consisted of little else but circus subjects.
He took up studies in fine art, first in Decatur at Milliken University, then at the Art Students League in New York City.  In 1917 he moved to Philadelphia, then the capital of the magazine industry, where his talent was soon recognized and he found plenty of work as an advertising and magazine illustrator.  Shortly after, Riggs tried to enlist in the army but was rejected for health reasons, so he signed up for the Enlisted Men's Reserve and was shipped out to France to help in field hospitals.  After he was demobilized in 1919, he stayed in France for a while to complete his art studies at the Academie Julian.  Before the year was out he was back in Philadelphia and working hard in his job at the advertising firm of N. W. Ayer.
In addition to his day job, Riggs took up lithography and painting.  His repertoire of themes included some grim depictions of his wartime experiences, in addition to boxing subjects, which were immensely popular.  As well, Riggs continued to visit the circus, a passion he never lost, and depict subjects based on the performances he saw.
High Bars is one of his best circus compositions.  In 1934, shortly after the painting was finished, Riggs issued a lithograph based on this composition, titled Clown Acrobats (Ben Bassham, The Lithographs of Robert Riggs, Philadelphia, 1986, number 38, illustrated page 74).  The catalogue entry for the lithograph includes this note:
The performers are one of the aerial-bars troupes of Walter Guice who was associated with Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus for about five years in the early 1930s.