Performance, Page 35

Birth of An Industry: Blackface Minstrelsy and the Rise of American Animation

Nicholas Sammond, Author

You appear to be using an older verion of Internet Explorer. For the best experience please upgrade your IE version or switch to a another web browser.

Performance, Page 35

Winsor McCay started his career as a newspaper sketch artist, eventually creating wildly successful Sunday cartoon series such as Little Sammy Sneeze (1904-1906), Dream of the Rarebit Fiend (1904-1911, 1913), Little Nemo in Slumberland (1905-1914). Dreams of a Rarebit Fiend was so popular that Edwin S. Porter directed a film version of it, Dream of a Rarebit Fiend, in 1906.

A master of perspective and of Art Nouveau detailing, McCay's success as an artist led him to experiment with animation, and he began a wildly successful vaudeville career as a lightning sketch artist in 1906. The influence of his performance as a lightening-sketch artist is evident in McCay's animated films, including Little Nemo (1911), How a Mosquito Operates (1912), and Gertie (1914).

McCay's Bug Vaudeville (1921), made years after he had stopped performing, sings a swan song to the performing animator himself, as animation developed into a highly rationalized industry in the late 'teens and early twenties.

Comment on this page

Local Discussion

Popout

Discussion of "Performance, Page 35"

Add your voice to this discussion.

Checking your signed in status ...

Winsor McCay Gertie the Dinosaur Little Nemo 1920s 1910s Image Moving Image Silent Black and White With Live Characters (Animators)

Related: Performance, Page 77, Performance, Page 74, Performance, Page 34, Race, Page 230, Conclusion, Page 291, Space, Page 170, Space, Page 172, Race, Page 225, Labor, Page 110, Introduction, Page 9, Conclusion, Page 278, Performance, Page 44, Performance, Page 45, Performance, Page 43, Space, Page 194, Space, Page 138, Conclusion, Page 302, Race, Page 221, Space, Page 146, Conclusion, Page 289, Space, Page 150, Labor, Page 98, Race, Page 204, Labor, Page 123, Performance, Page 76, Space, Page 175, Performance, Page 52, Conclusion, Page 274, Space, Page 141, Space, Page 143, Performance, Page 46, Space, Page 155, Performance, Page 54, Race, Page 261, Space, Page 177, Space, Page 162, Performance, Page 60, Race, Page 245, Space, Page 169, Race, Page 213, Space, Page 188, Space, Page 165, Labor, Page 88, Labor, Page 109, Race, Page 254, Performance, Page 84, Labor, Page 102, Race, Page 206, Labor, Page 122, Performance, Page 50, Performance, Page 42, Performance, Page 56, Space, Page 189, Labor, Page 132, introduction-page-22, Labor, Page 128, Labor, Page 112, Performance, Page 72, Space, Page 182, Conclusion, Page 290, Race, Page 224, Race, Page 251, Race, Page 219, Space, Page 190, Conclusion, Page 272, Race, Page 220, Race, Page 247, Conclusion, Page 298, Performance, Page 47, Space, Page 178, Introduction, Page 2, Space, Page 192, Performance, Page 40, Performance, Page 78, Race, Page 248, Introduction, Page 29, Performance, Page 62, Space, Page 191, Introduction, Page 21, Labor, Page 129, Conclusion, Page 292, Conclusion, Page 275, Labor, Page 133, Performance, Page 82, Race, Page 229, Space, Page 156, Race, Page 231, Performance, Page 67, Conclusion, Page 286, Conclusion, Page 304, Space, Page 187, Race, Page 232, Introduction, Page 1, Race, Page 235, Introduction, Page 14, Space, Page 148, Race, Page 258, Introduction, Page 20, Space, Page 166, Labor, Page 113, Race, Page 239, Introduction, Page 6, Conclusion, Page 300, Space, Page 181, Conclusion, Page 273, Space, Page 152, Performance, Page 70, Race, Page 242, Labor, Page 96, Introduction, Page 4, Labor, Page 131, Labor, Page 93, Space, Page 137, Labor, Page 119, Space, Page 195, Introduction, Page 23, Space, Page 197, Introduction, Page 30, Space, Page 159, Labor, Page 126, Introduction, Page 18, Race, Page 253, Space, Page 183, Space, Page 163, Conclusion, Page 284, Space, Page 193, Performance, Page 41, Conclusion, Page 268, Performance, Page 80, Introduction, Page 12, Introduction, Page 26, Race, Page 252, Race, Page 257, Space, Page 171, Labor, Page 115, Conclusion, Page 303, Conclusion, Page 296, Labor, Page 97