Painting
Can I see it?
Not on view at present
Where is “Painting” now? Collection: Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Not on view at present. Checked September 25, 2026.
London, United Kingdom
It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the painting
Thispainting by Albert Houthuesen represents the clown Danny Polo, and was one of several clown portraits that Houthuesen drew at the Doncaster Theatre in 1945, when the Houthuesens were living temporarily in Tickhill, near Doncaster. According to Houthuesen's biographer, for him the clown became a symbol, inseparable in spirit from an artist and a poet, and many of his works portray the clown as philosopher and saint.
Albert Houthuesen (1903-1979) was born in Amsterdam but came to London with his mother in 1912 after the death of his father. After attending the Royal College of Art, he became a teacher and subsequently a full-time artist. His work covered a wide range of subjects and mediums but he always loved the theatre, dance and clowns, and was inspired to make his first clown drawings in 1944 after meeting the Hermans, a family of Russian Jewish clowns.
Victoria and Albert Museum
Details
- Accession number
- S.420-1980
What it shows
In the catalog
Sources
- Victoria and Albert Museum
- Image: Victoria and Albert Museum — © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
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