Sir Alfred James Munnings (British, 1878-1959)
PIERROT
Watercolor, 12" x 5 3/4"
Signed and dated '07

Sir Alfred James Munnings, in his autobiography, describes his fondness for the circus. He recollects a time when he "had been following a travelling circus round to some of the market towns." Later in life, while writing the final volume of his autobiography, he looks back on the clowns and other circus performers he knew. "Mills' Circus! How wonderful! A sight for the artist. Often I made sketches there..." Frequently, he worked alongside Dame Laura Knight, one of his contemporaries, whose circus pictures to this day are immensely well received. Munnings, Sir Alfred James. Autobiography: An Artist's Life; Second Burst; The Finish. Museum Press, London: 1951, v.2 p.271.
Pierrot, the clown featured in the foreground, is a stock character in pantomime theatre who was popular around the turn of the century in circus performances and the theatre, particularly in Great Britain.