A black and white photograph of Jimmy Armstrong eating a sandwich at a diner with a vase of flo…

Untitled

Artist Bruce Davidson (American, born 1933)

Sitter Jimmy Armstrong (American, 1921 - 1984)

Date1958

Mediumvintage gelatin silver print

DimensionsSheet: 11 × 14 inches (27.9 × 35.6 cm)
Matted: 16 × 20 inches (40.6 × 50.8 cm)

Portfolio/Series"Circus (The Dwarf)" series

MarkingsBlue stamp on the back top right corner: "101"; Black stamp on the back center, upside-down: "PLEASE CREDIT / BRUCE DAVIDSON / MAGNUM PHOTOS INC. / 15 West 47th Street / New York 36, N. Y."; Black stamp on the back top left corner: "TIRAGE ARCHIVE MAGNUM PHOTOS / 20, rue des Grands Augustins, 75006 PARIS / EPREUVE à RENDRE / No / MAGNUM PARIS LIBRARY / PRINT TO BE RETURNED"

Credit LineGift of an anonymous donor.

Object number2018.16.112

On View

Not on view

Copyright© Bruce Davidson. The images and text contained on this page are owned by Telfair Museums or used by the Museum with permission from the owners. Unauthorized reproduction, transmission or display of these materials is prohibited with the exception of items deemed “fair use” as defined by U.S. and international copyright laws.Label TextDuring four weeks in 1958, Davidson hung around the Clyde Beatty Circus in the Palisades Amusement Park in New Jersey. He was immediately drawn to “little man” Jimmy Armstrong, who he first saw smoking in his clown costume outside the tent. Many of Davidson’s photographs of Armstrong reveal his loneliness and otherness amidst the performative atmosphere of the circus. While he is the subject of laughs and ridicule by others, Davidson foregrounds him as a sympathetic subject in the photographs and ultimately paints a picture of an individual with a life and human struggles outside of his routines in the big top. Text written for 'Bruce Davidson: Face to Face' on view February 4, 2022 - May 1, 2022.

Processed inArtist's studio, New York City, New York, United States of America

Photographed inNew Jersey, United States of America

Terms