Label Text:
Cat. No. 55 in Ben Bassham, "The Lithographs of Robert Riggs, With a Catalogue Raisonné," Philadelphia: The Art Alliance Press, 1986:
"When ELEPHANT ACT won the John Gribble Memorial Prize of the Philadelphia Printmakers Annual at The Print Club in 1937, an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer (2 January 1938) noted that the print had received honorable mention in two previous annuals. Riggs was quoted as having remarked, 'Twice a bridesmaid, never a bride.' The lithograph must therefore have been published as early as 1935.
"Riggs was particularly proud of this print, which displays his skill at drawing elephants and his ability to give a realistic treatment a strong foundation in abstract design. He once observed that ELEPHANT ACT was the only lithograph he did 'that shows more than an anecdotal value.' It was also the last of his prizewinning prints.
"The subject is the act of Captain Lawrence Davis and his 'ponderous performers with trunks of new tricks.'" See pages 82-83.
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