William Hart (1823-1894)
Country Circus
signed 'WM. HART' (lower right) and dated 'July 77' (lower left)
oil on canvas laid down on board
5 3/4 x 12 3/4 in. (14.6 x 32.4 cm.)
Painted in 1877.
Footnotes:
Provenance
Macbeth Gallery, New York.
Alfred Corning Clark II (1916-1961), Cooperstown, New York, acquired from the above, November 1943.
Jean Sinclair (née Snodgrass) Tailer (1918-2018), Palm Beach, Florida, gift from the above.
By descent within the family of the above to the present owner.

Painted in upstate New York, Country Circus exhibits the exquisite detail of the artist's small landscapes. While these works are usually pastoral, often featuring cows, the current example is unique as a scene incorporating a group of figures and circus subject. Hart uses small details like grazing horses and flowers near the fences on either side of the road, the back of a cart moving towards the tents, and spots of color indicating the various clothing of the figures to give dimension to his subject.

The combination of the large tents, one with an American flag, and the smaller tents in the distance indicate the draw and popularity of the circus to the local crowd. Dated 1877, the scene that the artist captured was done during the 'Golden Age' of the circus in America, which occurred from the 1870s to the early 1900s. The early 1870s saw the consolidation of smaller circus companies into larger companies like P.T. Barnum, which increased touring and attendance with two large rings for performances in 1873. P.T. Barnum's Circus was touring upstate New York. in May of 1877, however by July, had moved on to the upper Midwest region of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan. For the current example, the artist likely witnessed a smaller circus company inspired by Barnum's more elaborate show.