William “Bil” Britton Baird (1904-1987) [RA 1982-1987, HA 1987] : Hand puppet of Harry Truman for Flahooley, ca.1951.

SAL record control number: 112105 ;

Record level: Item ;

Record type: Movable work ;

 

Work title: Punch hand puppet  [from the artist’s book] ;

Alternate work titles:
ca.1965 : Punch hand puppet  [from the artist’s book] ;

Work date: ca.1965 ;

Work creator: William Britton “Bil” Baird (1904-1987) ;

Work medium: Painted wood and cotton clothing ;
Work dimensions: ? x ? inches ;

Inscribed / signed front: [none] ;

Verso: [none] ;

SAL category: Sculpture ;
SAL sub-category: Puppet ;

Archives of American Art subjects:
Art
Art—American
Art―Private collections―New York (State)
Art―Private collections―New York (State)―Salmagundi
Sculpture
Sculpture — Puppet

Description of work:
Punch of Punch and Judy hand puppets modeled by Baird from Cruikshank’s drawing of Piccini’s 19th-century figures.  Baird’s puppet wears a “pleased as punch” expression, have appeared on TV. – The Art of the Puppet by Bil Baird (1965).

Provenance:
1987 Salmagundi, New York, NY, donated by the artist’s son Peter Baird in memory of his father William Britton “Bil” Baird (1904-1987), accession #2006.40 ;
ca.1965 William Britton “Bil” Baird (1904-1987), the artist .

Exhibition history:
2021 SMAA Bil Baird : Narrative Design November – December.
ca.1960s [unknown] TV appearances [as per the artist’s book] ;

References / citations:
– The art of the puppet by Bil Baird, 1965, page 87 [unnumbered], illustrated : color.

Notes:
– The museum would like to gratefully acknowledge the help of fellow puppeteer Craig Marin and Olga Felgemacher, longtime collaborator to Bil Baird, for their kind assistance with identifying the puppet and their productions, 2021.

 

Document information

Document permalink:
http://salmagundi.org/artwork/?p=85930

Digital-born document number:
SAL.2021.112105

Record birth date:
March 31, 2021

Last updated: November 29, 2021 at 21:14 pm