Oil on panel. 48 x 31 inches, signed in block letters “R.E. Weaver 1937” lower left. This dramatic work won the 3rd Julius Hallgarten Prize in 1938 at the National Academy of Design. Weaver was the youngest artist to date to win the prize. It was painted while REW was living in New York's Greenwich Village. The work was included in the 138th Annual Exhibition at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in 1943. Formerly in the collections of Paul Kollsman, Ira Spanierman, and Artemis and Martha Joukowsky. Exhibited and represented by Spanierman Galleries, New York, NY in 2003 as part of the gallery's exhibition, The Spirit of America: American Art from 1829 to 1970. Wagon 97 set the record for a work by REW at auction at the 12/03/1997 Sotheby’s auction of American Art. #W245 (collection of the Indiana State Museum)
Oil on panel, 64 x 51.5 inches. Exhibited by the invitation of R.J. McKinney, director, division of American painting at the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition of Contemporary Art in San Francisco, CA. Chosen for exhibition 200 Years of Indiana Art: A Cultural Legacy at the Indiana State Museum, 2016. (Collection of the International Circus Hall of Fame.) #W236
Oil on panel. 60 x 36 inches. Also known as Back Door. This was the tying entry for the 1937 John Armstrong Chaloner Paris Prize. "A visit with my friends the Loyal-Repensky Family on the Ringling Bros. Barnum and Bailey Circus." (collection of the Haan Museum of Indiana Art) #W7
Egg Tempera on panel. 33.5 x 27.5 inches. This work was a supplemental entry for the Chaloner Paris Prize in 1937. The work also was know as A Night At The Circus. REW painted this work to accompany the winning entry, The Repensky Riders. ( collection of the Haan Museum of Indiana Art) #32
Oil on canvas. 22.5" x 26.5" Originally painted as the fully realized figural work as part of the Chaloner judging, this work was later exhibited (by invitation) at the Pennsylvania Academy Exhibition beginning on January 29, 1939. #1501 on back of work. #W39.
Egg tempera on panel. 67" x 55" – One summer REW traveled with the circus, working odd jobs and meeting performers on the show. Among the many performers he got to know was the famed Riding Hanneford family. He was particularly impressed by Gracie Hanneford daughter of the great Edwin "Poodles" Hanneford. This massive work is his homage to the performer. It is a strong work that demonstrates the artist’s strengths, great draftsmanship in his figural, and equine subjects, and colorations carefully chosen and executed, giving his works of this period great depth. #W86
Oil on panel. 30 x 40 inches. REW’s midwestern equivalent to The Gross Clinic by artist Thomas Eakins. Accepted by the National Academy of Design for its 123rd Annual Exhibition in 1949. Also shown at the 24th Annual Hoosier Salon. Indianapolis, Indiana, and L. S. Ayres & Company, "75th Anniversary Art Exhibition," November 1947 (Second Prize, $750, Edward Hopper, juror). #W28
Oil paint on canvas. 57 x 36 inches. The title of this work is derived not from the principal figure in the painting, but from the performer high in the rigging. During the L.S. Ayres and Co., 75th Anniversary Competition where this work was shown, the Indianapolis Star newspaper commented on jurists, Edward Hopper, Sidney Laufman, and Hobart Nichols debate of the two entries by REW. "…the jury argued that the circus subject didn’t represent Indiana, they did not know that for many years one of the leading American circus companies has had winter quarters in Peru, and Robert Weaver of Peru has painted circus subjects ever since he entered Herron School, several years before the war…" (collection of the Miami County Museum, Peru, IN) #W163
Oil on gesso panel, 31.25” x 23.375” signed R. Weaver lower right. This recently resurfaced work by REW is typical of his style post WWII and just before his “Gothic” style. The subjects on horseback are most likely Edwin “Poodles” Hanneford and his daughter Gracie. REW was very good friends with the Hanneford family, who he depicted many times. He considered them one of the greatest bare-back riding families of all time. The composition perfectly illustrated his youthful enthusiasm for the illustrating the circus of the 1930s and early 40s. See the preliminary drawing in the drawing menu. (private collection of Philip Keller)
Oil on panel. 38.75 x 24 inches. Signed R. Weaver lower right. A work in REW’s “Gothic Style” of the 1950s. The subject, Franz Furtner (1907-1994) who adopted the stage name Unus, was perhaps the mid-twentieth century’s most famous hand balancer. Unus performed his illusionary one finger ball balance with Ringling Bros., Barnum and Bailey Circus, and later internationally. (collection of Mark E. Weaver) #5
Oil on panel. In October, 1948, REW was awarded the Joseph J. Daniels Award for this work entitled Junk Yard Boys (Junk Boys) at the 16th Annual Indiana Artists Club Exhibition held in the L.S. Ayres & Company Auditorium. It was later part of the Senger Collection. (private collection) W118
Oil on board. 42.75 x 36 inches. Circus "roughnecks" (laborers) napping between performances. (collection of the Peru Community Schools Art Gallery, Peru, IN.) #W196
Oil on panel. 40 x 24 inches. Also referred to as Eternal May. Entered in the 22nd Indiana Artists Club Exhibition. (collection of the Indianapolis Museum of Art) #W43
Oil on panel. 18.75 x 15 inches. Another portrait of the clown/aerialist John Cadaro was exhibited at the Grand Central Galleries in New York in the 1950's. Cadaro traveled as a member of the Walter Guice Troupe with Ringling Bros. Cadaro died in 1942 from injuries sustained in a fall while practicing in a gymnasium in New Orleans, LA. He was 28 years of age. It is considered to be one of REW's greatest portraits. Exhibited at the 26th Annual Hoosier Salon. The work was in the private collection of Dr. Ralph and Helen Barnett of Peru, Indiana. (Mark E. Weaver collection) #W117
Acrylic on panel. 39 x 31 inches. This is a very important work in that it was the beginning of a new direction for REW. REW recalled the wagons of the American Circus Corporation being piled-up and burned, or left to rot in fields outside of his hometown of Peru, IN, in the 1930's. Awarded Best In Show at the 1966 Indiana State Fair exhibiton. #W130
Oil on panel. 53.5 x 53.5 inches. Awarded the Indiana Artist Club Award at the 44th Indiana Artists Club 44th Exhibition. Also exhibited in one-man-show Indiana State Museum 1977-78. (collection of Robert Kent Baker) #42
Oil on panel. Signed lower right R. Weaver. Pare of a series of large portraits of some of the circuses greatest clowns. Here Low Jacobs poses with his little dog Knucklehead dressed as a rabbit. The two were inseparable. (collection of the International Circus Hall of Fame, Peru, Indiana. Gift of the artist) W133
Acrylic on panel. 41.5 x 31.75 inches. Hagenbeck-Wallace poster on barn with fence posts that actually existed at the old Hagenbeck-Wallace circus winter quarters in Peru, IN. #196
Acrylic on panel. 46.75 x 38.75 inches. This work won the Indiana Federation of Art Clubs Merit Award at the 49th Annual Hoosier Salon, 1973, and exhibited at the artist's one-man-show at the Indiana State Museum 9/77—2/78. #W216
Oil on board. 8 x 9 inches. This small painting by REW is probably one of his first dealing with the subject of auto racing in the midwestern United States. It depicts the high banked dirt track at Winchester, IN. REW was probably still in his teens when he painted this action packed image. #475
Oil on panel. 57.5 x 31.25 inches. Exhibited at the Grand Central Galleries, NYC in 1952. Exhibited that same year at the 45th Annual Indiana Artists Club exhibition at the John Herron Art Museum, Indianapolis. Also was the inspiration for the concerto for horns and orchestra by James Beckel, In the Mind's Eye. The concerto was premiered in on May 14 & 15, 2010 by the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. #W52
Oil on panel. 36 x 23.5 inches. A classic feat of the bareback rider's repertoire performed chiefly by lady equestrians. #W210
Acrylic on panel. 36 x 28 inches. A later work by REW. Performers anticipating their entrance into the arena was a fascinating thing to REW. He wondered what they may have been thinking in preparation for their performance. This work is akin to James Abbott McNeill Whistler's, Symphony in White No. 1: The White Girl. #W250
Oil on gessoed masonite 49.25” x 22.25”. Framed and signed R. Weaver lower right. Perhaps a memory of his transit of the Atlantic from France in the Fall of 1939 aboard the merchant vessel Fort Richepanse? No Bananas was a work of whimsy and always a conversation piece for visitors to the artist’s home. Denuded banana stalks hang posing the question. What are we? #163
Oil on panel. 37 x 49 inches. Also known as Prima Donna. This work portrays the opening spectacle of an American circus performance. #W89
Oil on panel. 36x23.5 inches. This image by REW depicts the arrival, and set-up of the great Sells Floto Circus tent in stormy weather. No matter what, the show had to go on, and on time. The traveling circus of the age was a symphony of man and beast. #119
Acrylic on panel. 53.325 x 37.5 inches. This fantasy work by REW celebrates the work of Gavioli and Co. One of the premier makers of carnival band organs. Gavioli can been seen looking at you from between the legs of the two ladies at the base of the sculpture. #W80
Oil on panel. 28 1/2 x 52 5/8 inches. A portrait painted in tribute to the great German born clown, Otto Griebling. Awarded the Mrs. Donald M. Mattison Award at the Indiana Artists Club 38th Annual Exhibition. Also exhibited 9/25/77-1/15/78 at the artist's solo exhibition at the Indiana State Museum. #W157 This work is now available as a Giclee print. Please visit the Giclee Prints page on this website.
Acrylic on gesso panel. In artist designed frame, and signed R. Weaver lower right. Also referred to as “Take Me to the Water.” A rural southern baptism is illustrated here. Inspired by the artist's travel in the southern states, in particular Louisiana, during his spring recesses from teaching at the Herron School of Art and Design. REW was intrigued by the folklore of the south, developing a special interest in the African American tradition of river and bayou baptisms. This work harkens back to the artist’s so-called “Gothic Style” from over a decade before. A stylized vibrantly colored swamp background in arch form contrasts with the geometric draped white costuming of the figural subjects in the composition. The figures are reflected in the still waters to give the work an etherial feel. Shown at the 1969 Hoosier Salon. #W85
Oil on panel. 24 x 36 unframed, 31.25 x 43 framed, signed R. Weaver After: Jan Fyt lower right. REW was always striving to improve his painting skill. The need for a still life for the decor of the family’s restaurant induced the painting of this work in the 1980's. REW painted this picture after the Flemish Baroque painter Jan Fyt. REW called it "an exercise." The original Fyt painting is in the Huntington Gallery and is much larger. #W223
Oil on panel. 45 x 29.5 inches. The Baggage Stock would aid in the loading and unloading of circus wagons to and from the trains. (private collection) #121
Acrylic on panel. 34 x 23.75 inches. This work was inspired by hurricane "Gloria" which effected the east coast of the United States in 1985. REW and his family had just recently moved to North Carolina and experienced their first hurricane. #W277
Oil on panel. 58 x 57 inches. This is a large scale work by REW depicting the great Hanneford riding family. "Poodles" (Edwin Richard) Hanneford is seen here performing his famed comic falling off the horse stunt. His mother "Nana" is seen to the right in black. #W166
Oil on canvas. 21.5 x 25.5, unsigned. One of the few works painted by REW during WWII when the artist was serving with Rescue Squadron VH-3. The subject is a rescued Japanese fighter pilot. #W162
Oil on canvas, 55 x 43 inches. This work was awarded the first prize as the Outstanding Entry in the Fine Arts Exhibition of the 1946 Indiana State Fair. The Indianapolis Star Newspaper remarked, "High point of the judging was the awarding of a $100 special premium to Robert Weaver of Peru for his oil figure. This has the distinction of being one of the first works completed following REW's service in WWII. (Chinese Laundryman) The Ironer." (private collection) No. 14
Oil on gesso panel. Signed R. Weaver lower right. Another work by REW in the “gothic” style that informed his work during the late 1940s and 50s. Pastoral and Biblical subjects were subjects painted by the artist after his experiences during World War II. (private collection). #W131
Oil on panel, 25.375 x 30.125 inches. Done in the manner of German painter Severin Roesen (1816-1872). This was an "exercise" in still life tradition for REW. REW was always interested in improving his skill as a painter. It was painted to adorn the family's restaurant in New Bern, NC. The work is framed in a rare 19th century gilt frame by Frederick Keer of Newark, NJ. #W224
Oil on panel. 28.75 x 22.75 inches. This is a wonderful example of REW's outstanding ability with color and composition. The subject pictured were in the millinery department of the William H. Block Co. of Indianapolis, IN. The work was exhibited at the Grand Central Galleries, NYC and the Hoosier Salon Exhibition 1/19—2/10/1951 #101 This work is now available as a Giclee print. Please visit the Giclee Prints page on this website.
Acrylic on panel. 78 x 56 inches. This large work was inspired by the poem by John Godfrey Saxe. It was painted over a period of one decade. (private collection) #191
Acrylic on panel. 36 x 25.75 inches. Old fashioned shoe-shine emporium. (private collection of John Oliva and Nancy Krant) #114
Oil on gesso masonite. 36.5 inches x 54.375 inches. Signed R. Weaver lower left. Elephants arriving on the circus lot in the early morning. A pastoral scene before the excitement of the day commences. #56 (private collection of Robert Kent Baker)
Oil on panel. Also known as Scrub Women. The strong features and geometry of this work are typical of REW's post war works. REW was involved with mural painting at this time which may have influenced the style of this work. (Collection of the Peru Community Schools Art Gallery) #W198
Oil on panel, 41 inches x 37.25 inches. In the Mills-Denmark Collection then the Senger Collection. Appeared in the February, 1961 issue of Good Housekeeping Magazine, page 111, The James E. Mills residence, New York City. Now in the collection of the Peru Community Schools Art Gallery. #W21
Oil on panel. 34 x 30 1/8 inches. Dated Nov. 15, 1939 on the reverse. Sold at Sotheby's Auction House, October 2, 2014 and again most recently at Freeman’s Auctions in Philadelphia on June 9, 2019. See the "Drawings" menu to see the graphite study sketch for this work which is available for purchase.
Oil on panel. 18 x 40 inches. Signed R. Weaver lower right. Awarded the Katherine Keene Langdon Memorial Prize, for Outstanding Figure Character Study, Twenty-sixth Annual Hoosier Salon, 1950. Recently discovered. #W243.
Oil on panel. 48.125 x 30 inches. The subject was one of the great clowns on the Ringling Circus at the turn of the 20th century. This large portrait is one of a series of famous clowns of the circus executed by REW. #57
Oil on panel. 41 x 34.625 inches. Dressed all in white, acrobats would create the illusion of moving statuary in the circus arena. Also called "Adagio," performers would execute complicated postures such as head stands, hand to hand stands, and other gravity defying balancing postures. Exhibited at the Indiana Artists 47th Annual Exhibition. (collection of the Miami County Historical Society, Peru, IN) #W217
Oil on board. 28 x 14 inches. One of three portraits done by REW of the great Ringling Bros. Barnum and Bailey clown/aerialist who traveled with the Walter Guice Troupe. Exhibited at the Grand Central Galleries, NYC,NY. #W116 (Collection of the Miami County Historical Society.) #W116
Acrylic on panel. 55.25 x 55 inches. The "Long Mount" was the finale of any circus elephant performance. REW considered this to be his greatest work. The action in the background illustrates the flying act performers readying their rigging for the the final act of the evening. Exhibited at the artist's one-man exhibition at the Indiana State Museum 9/77—3/78. #W129
Acrylic on gesso panel. 43.75 x 28 inches. An old Cole Bros. Circus ticket wagon rotting away at sunset. (collection of the Peru Community Schools Art Gallery) #W183
Oil on board. 40.5 x 22 inches. The stiff drawing involved to create this image was typical of REW's work post WWII. His use of vivid color is still evident from works of his earlier periods. The work also includes a heavy impasto to give more texture to the braid of the musician's uniforms. Exhibited at the Indiana Artists' Club and Herron Museum of Art. (Collection of the Miami County Historical Society, Peru, IN) #W22
Acrylic on panel. 30.325 x 30 inches. Exhibited at the 49th Hoosier Salon, 1973. (collection of the Peru Community Schools Art Gallery) #W231
In the late 70s one of the sensations of the Shrine Circus in Indianapolis was Jacquline Zerbini, wife of the great animal trainer Tarzan Zerbini. “Jackie” was an amazing aerialist who worked in highest parts of the arena on a rotating piece of rigging that was a counterbalance for Jackie’s trapeze. It was a daring piece of skill that REW admired greatly.
Oil on board. approximately 53 x 31 inches. Gifted by REW to the Peru, Indiana YMCA. Street urchins playing marbles in front of a wall sporting an old torn circus poster. Somehow REW always worked the circus into the composition somewhere. #W139.
Acrylic on panel. The Hostler directed the action of the wagons on the circus lot. The white wagon pictured was the Great Wallace Shows ticket wagon. (collection of the Circus City Festival Incorporated, Peru, IN) #W101
Oil on board. Shown at the Indiana Artists Club exhibition at the John Herron Museum of Art. The performers depicted in this work were of eastern European nationality. (collection of the Circus City Festival Incorporated, Peru, IN.) #W238
Oil on board. 46.125 x 36.5 inches. For a brief period of time after his service in World War II, REW concentrated on biblical subjects. This work, much like REW's work Daniel, incorporated his angular gothic style of the late 1940's and early 1950's using a coloration akin to that of the artist Pieter Bruegel the Elder (1525-1569). (Private collection) #W95
Another large work in REW’s famous clown series. This time, it’s Felix Adler in one of his balloon costumes.
Oil on panel. Another subject in the "Gothic" style of REW's 1950's period. Vivid coloration and geometric forms make for an interesting composition. (Private collection)
Acrylic on panel. 31 x 24 inches. Part of a series of paintings depicting the demise of the traveling circus. Here the Wallace Shows ticket wagon awaits its end bathed in moonlight. Many wagons were burned in the 1930's. #113
Mixed media on panel. 58.25 x 24 inches. This quasi still life reveals more to the viewer upon closer examination. REW included actual North Carolina beach sand into this work. #174
Oil paint on panel. Signed lower left R. Weaver. This large work by REW captured the end of the circus parade which always feature the steam calliope. The buildings in the paintings composition were inspired by an area of Cincinnati known as “Over the Rhine.” Weaver would have know this area because his wife Betty grew up in that city. #W161 (collection of the estate of Fred Senger)
Acrylic paint on gesso panel, 24” x 18” unsigned, estate stamp and provenance on reverse. One of the last paintings to be worked on by REW prior to his passing in 1991. #205 (private collection)
Acrylic on panel. 39.25 x 29.5 inches. The famous Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus Lion cage wagon is pulled by the "Bull Man" or Elephant team. (private collection) #123
Acrylic on panel. 29 x20.5 inches. As symbolized in this collage of tattered posters, REW felt deeply about the decline of the great American circus. Years of posters on the side of a building create this abstract record of the coming and going of the circus. (private collection) #112
The great chair balancing clown/acrobat. This big painting was part of REW’s famous clowns of the circus series.
Acrylic on gessoed panel. 32 x 24 inches. This fantasy work depicts the Nathanial Palmer mansion in Stonington, CT during a storm. It incorporates a carved wooden figure from the Peru (IN) Circus Winter Quarters. Wherever REW traveled, his mind was not far from the circus of his childhood. (on temporary loan Stonington Historical Society, Palmer House) #169
Acrylic on panel. 48 x 48 inches. REW painted this as a tribute to the great tramp clown, Otto Griebling. Winner of the Mrs. Donald M. Mattison Merit Award at the 44th Indiana Artists Club 1970, and the artist's one-man-show at the Indiana State Museum. #45
Oil on board, 20” x 30,” signed lower right corner R. Weaver. REW would often challenge himself by using texture, color, and abstraction. This work is one of those experiments. This work was done when the artist was very interested in some the works by the Viennese School painters such as Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele. Recently sold at the April 11, 2020 curated sale by Fine Estate Art. No catalogue number.
Acrylic paint on gessoed panel. Signed R. Weaver lower right. Another in the series of decaying circus wagons capturing the end of the era of the traveling circuses. This image depicts the Howe"s Great London circus pony float often called the Howe"s “Dragon” pony float. (collection of Robert Kent Baker) #44
Oil on masonite, 26.25” x 36”, signed R. Weaver lower left. Recently discovered. Painted during the artist’s residency in New York City. Shown at the Grand Central Art Galleries. Private collection, Dayton, OH. Sold at March 5, 2020 Sotheby’s sale to new collector. (uncatalogued)
Acrylic paint on gesso panel. The great Adam Forepaugh Calliope, c. 1910, by REW. Exhibited at the 43rd Annual Indiana Artist Club Exhibition, 1975. The noted New York art dealer and impresario Ira Spanierman (while looking at REW's work) stated that he was really a great "illustrator." That was pretty much spot on. REW told stories with his work. In this case, the demise of the great circus wagons. These wagons were works of folk art. Wood carvings by immigrant artisans gave each wagon a personality. Capturing the end of their era was a mission that REW took on beginning in the 1966 with his award winning work "Lost Parade," and continued until his passing in 1991. (collection of Gene and Mary Helen Wells) #W30
Acrylic on gesso panel. Great Wallace Dragon Steam Calliope. This wagon was built at the turn of the last century in REW's home town of Peru, IN, by the Sullivan and Eagle Wagon Firm. It appears in two of REW’s works, "Parade's End," 1960, and here in this work again twenty years later as an essay to the end of the Great Wallace Shows. (collection of Fred D. Pfening Jr.) W91
Acrylic on gesso board. Signed R. Weaver lower left. #W69
Acrylic paint on gessoed masonite. Signed R. Weaver. (collection of the Peru Community Schools Art Gallery)