Doc’s Rivera’s Midway Art

Doc Rivera’s Midway Art Showcases His Artistic Talents

On this page, you can see some of the show paintwork I’ve done over the years. It’s all gone now because all Showpainters realize that what they were creating was known in the business as “Disposable Art”. This represents only a small amount of photographs I have. If I see something that I admire, done by another artist, or a link to something visually attractive that pertains to our business, I will credit it appropriately and display it for your enjoyment as well. I believe the world is full of beauty and I am glad that I was given the gift from The Great Architect of the Universe to be able to create a tiny fraction of it worthy to be displayed on the circus and carnival midways of America.

You can also see his paintings at the International Independent Showmen’s Museum.

International Independent Showmens Museum

This content isn't available right now

When this happens, it's usually because the owner only shared it with a small group of people, changed who can see it or it's been deleted.

View On Facebook

International Independent Showmens Museum

The Cardiff Giant is one of the most famous hoaxes in American history. It was a 10-foot-tall purported "petrified man", uncovered on October 16 1869 by workers digging a well behind the barn of William C. "Stub" Newell, in Cardiff, New York. The giant was the creation of a New York tobacconist named George Hull. He was an ardent believer in science, especially in the theory of evolution proposed by Charles Darwin. Hull, an atheist, got into an argument with a fundamentalist minister named Reverend Turk and his supporters at a Methodist revival meeting about a Bible passage (Genesis 6:4) which states that there were giants who once lived on Earth. Hull lost the argument to the fervent congregation and was quite miffed. Hull decided he wanted to prove how easily he could fool people with a fake giant so in 1868, Hull, accompanied by a man named H.B. Martin, hired men to quarry out a 10-foot-4.5-inch-long block of gypsum in Fort Dodge, Iowa, telling them it was intended for a monument to Abraham Lincoln in New York. He shipped the block to Edward Burghardt in Chicago, a German stonecutter he had sworn to secrecy. Burghardt hired two sculptors, Henry Salle and Fred Mohrmann, to create the giant. They had taken cautious steps to cover up their work during the carving, putting up quilts to lessen the sound of carving. For the giant to look ancient, various stains and acids were used to make the giant appear to be old and weathered, then buried the "Gaff" behind the barn and waited until he thought the time was right to unveil it. It initially caused a lot of speculation both pro and con and opinions abounded as to its validity by "experts" and it even resulted in a court ruling.On December 10, 1869, Hull confessed everything to the press.The Cardiff Giant was displayed at the 1901 Pan-American Exposition but did not attract much attention.Iowa publisher Gardner Cowles, Jr. bought it later to adorn his basement rumpus room as a coffee table and conversation piece. In 1947 he sold it to the Farmers' Museum in Cooperstown, New York, where it's still displayed. These Cardiff Giant "gaffs" were extensively used on carnival midways as stand-alone side shows from the early 1900s, right through the latter part of the 20th century. Incidentally, we have a pretty good "Cardiff Giant" of our own going under another name that's displayed here at the sideshow exhibit at the Showmen's Museum. ... See MoreSee Less

Photo

View On Facebook

Doc’s Rivera’s Midway Art

Doc Rivera’s Midway Art Showcases His Artistic Talents

Great Hilliar’s Mentalist Show

Early Forms of Entertainment In America

Showbiz And The Big Screen

Doc Rivera’s Midway Art Showcases His Artistic Talents

Magic Acts

Carnivals

Carnival Movies