A Sensational Huge Hand Painted Fairground Art Sideshow Canvas Banner

Origin: British
Period: Mid Twentieth Century
Provenance: Unknown
Date: c.1950-65
Width: 120 inches
Height: 120 inches

Swaggering with the intense tang of mid century poster design, the hand painted canvas banner measuring ten feet square is sideshow fairground creation come pop-art super terror at its devilish best.

The beautiful brunette framed by an ornate gold scrolled border is in a typical distressed theatrical pose, the Warhol-esque full red lips and doe eyed glance in true pop art style, reminiscent of Roy Lichtenstein's Drowning Girl. The huge canvas is also evocative of horror and film noir movie artwork for films such as ‘Shock’, ‘Attack of The 50 Ft Woman’ and ‘I Married a Monster From Outer Space’ to name but three.

Suspended from a multitude of cotton strings from loops the painted canvas is in good overall condition, with only a few creases here and there that are likely to drop out anyway, and some minor scuffs to the paintwork.

Imaginatively hand created in the middle part of the twentieth century, this superb fairground artwork was most likely fashioned to advertise a flagship sideshow ride or event, for example a terrifying Zero Gravity or Ghost Train or a stomach wrenching Mega-Drop or Looper; the scream depicted on the distressed damsel is so big you can almost hear it.

Very rarely on the open market, and of a size and quality that is simply breathtaking, this is a superb piece of fairground art that provides a show-stopping spectacle wherever it hangs.