EDWARD M. EGGLESTON (1883-1941) BILLY ROSE'S AQUACADE. 1936. 41x26 1/2 inches, 104x67 1/2 cm. L.I.P. & B.A., Cleveland. Condition B+ / B: repaired tears in margins and image; staining in margins; hand-written year in bottom margin. Framed. Billy Rose was a songwriter, night club owner, producer and impresario. The first large-scale show he produced outside of a theatre was at the Chicago World's Fair in 1934; from there, he went on to Fort Worth for the Texas Centennial Exposition in 1936. For The Great Lakes Exposition in 1937, he came up with his masterpiece, a synchronized swimming and aquatic show. The show was staged in around a massive pool, in an outdoor theatre-restaurant that sat 5,000 people. Eleanor Holm and Johnny Weismuller were among his original performers. After the success in Cleveland, Rose went on to stage his Aquacade at the New York World's Fair in 1939, using this image on the cover of the programs for the event. Eggleston did a lot of work for the Pennsylvania Railroad, and like this piece, much of his work for them features attractive women in the foreground wearing bathing suits with the destination in the background.
