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Whiteface clown costume worn by Jackie Sloan

Circus Costume
ca.1950
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Although white make-up was used by clowns as early as Grimaldi in the early 1800s, the duo of elegant white-face clown and hobo-style Auguste was a late 19th century development in circus, introduced after Tom Belling Senior (1843-1900) played the lower-class style clown at the Circus Renz in Vienna in the 1870s. This specifically dressed duo is obsolete today but was an essential element of 20th century circus. The more outrageous and stupid the red-nosed Auguste could look in his baggy clothes and oversized shoes the better, in contrast to his sparring partner the elegantly-dressed white-face clown.

Jackie Sloan (1914-1984) worked with Chipperfields Circus and Bertram Mills Circus from the early 1950s to the 1960s when he retired due to ill health. Like all white-face clowns he played the elegant and intelligent part of the duo in contract to the rumbunctious and baggily dressed clown, as typified in the 1950s by Coco the clown (Nicolai Poliakoff, 1900-1974), with whom he worked.

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watch Conserving a clown costume Watch and listen to Senior Textile Conservator Susana Fajardo as she works on a sequinned clown costume designed by Gerard Vicaire in this ASMR video. Follow the painstakingly delicate approach as dust is carefully removed, corrosion is reduced, and sequins are gently cleaned.

Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleWhiteface clown costume worn by Jackie Sloan (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Linen, cotton, sequins, metal poppers and beads
Brief description
Whiteface clown costume or sac worn by Jackie Sloan (1914-1984). Designed by Gérard Vicaire (1927-2018); made by Atelier Vicaire, Paris, ca. 1950
Gallery label
Gallery, 2019 Whiteface Clown costume worn by Jackie Sloan (1914-1984) Jackie Sloan wore this spectacular ‘sac’ at Bertram Mills Circus, but it was made in Paris by Gérard Vicaire (1927-2018) ‘costumier to the stars’. The duo of an immaculately dressed white-face clown and a red-nose Auguste in baggy trousers and oversized shoes was an essential part of 20th century circus. Linen, cotton, sequins, metal poppers and beads Designed by Gérard Vicaire, ca.1950 Museum number: S.583-2018 and Gallery rotation, 2022 COSTUME WORN BY JACKIE SLOAN AS A WHITEFACE CLOWN, CHIPPERFIELD’S AND BERTRAM MILLS’ CIRCUS 1950s–early 1960s Jackie Sloan commissioned this whiteface clown costume, or ‘sac’, from Gérard Vicaire, the Parisian ‘costumier to the stars’ who specialised in these elegant outfits. The contrast of an immaculately dressed, intelligent and sure-footed whiteface clown with his clumsy companion clown, a red-nosed ‘Auguste’ in baggy trousers and oversized shoes, was a popular comic element of 20th-century circus. Designed by Gérard Vicaire Linen, cotton, sequins, metal poppers and beads Museum no. S.583-2018 (07/11/2019)
Summary
Although white make-up was used by clowns as early as Grimaldi in the early 1800s, the duo of elegant white-face clown and hobo-style Auguste was a late 19th century development in circus, introduced after Tom Belling Senior (1843-1900) played the lower-class style clown at the Circus Renz in Vienna in the 1870s. This specifically dressed duo is obsolete today but was an essential element of 20th century circus. The more outrageous and stupid the red-nosed Auguste could look in his baggy clothes and oversized shoes the better, in contrast to his sparring partner the elegantly-dressed white-face clown.

Jackie Sloan (1914-1984) worked with Chipperfields Circus and Bertram Mills Circus from the early 1950s to the 1960s when he retired due to ill health. Like all white-face clowns he played the elegant and intelligent part of the duo in contract to the rumbunctious and baggily dressed clown, as typified in the 1950s by Coco the clown (Nicolai Poliakoff, 1900-1974), with whom he worked.

Collection
Accession number
S.583-2018

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Record createdNovember 12, 2018
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