Portraits of the Artists

by Matt Cummings

published May 28th 2008

History is written by the winners, but, more often than not, it's the artists who get the last word. So in 1999, when a group of board members and staff at the historic Valentine Theatre were searching for a way to celebrate the rich heritage of internationally renowned performers who have graced the theatre's stage over more than a century, they hired Toledo artist, Paul Geiger, to paint a mural.

"The original parameters," Geiger said, "weren't that clearly stated. In fact, it was kind of an extraordinary job because I was given a creative blank check. I was able to do whatever I wanted. So it gave me plenty of room to use my imagination."

What Geiger came up with after a year of intensive research was a busy backstage scene crowded with forty-six iconic performers from the theatre's early days, rubbing elbows as they gear up for a night on the stage. William Gillette, lighting a pipe and dressed in the unmistakable garb of Sherlock Holmes, stares up confusedly at a chained and straight-jacketed Harry Houdini hanging upside-down from the rafters. Ed Wynn, complete with his little hat and circle-rimmed glasses, has stolen a couple of juggling balls from W.C. Fields to use as props to strike his trademark wacky, rubber-faced pose, while a few feet away, Sarah Bernhardt lounges disinterestedly stroking the head of one of the cheetahs she famously brought along as part of her traveling menagerie.

"I wanted to restrict my cast of characters to 1895, when the theatre opened, to 1917 when it became a movie house," Geiger said. "A lot of these figures were just colorless, black and white photographs to me, but, by the end of my research they were all living, fascinating people."

Geiger, who in addition to being a brilliant illustrator also runs a fine printmaking facility in his Summit Street studio, has brought these otherwise dusty Vaudvillians to life with such skill that the mural goes well beyond being a simple collage of individuals plucked from the pages of history. He expresses of all the drama and energy of the Valentine's rich past in an explosively dynamic instant.

"I didn't just want to do mug shots," Geiger said. "I wanted to weave a narrative throughout. There had to be a story. I wanted one character to be relating to another. And there's an educational component to this whole thing that will endure here at the theatre and be a reason for a lot of people to come and see it."

But one of the remarkable things about this painting is that you don't have to be able to pick up all of the obscure references to be able to enjoy it. It bursts with such life and energy that it's simply a joy to see.

"Even if you don't know anything about any of these people, just looking at it is going to be an entertaining experience, and an engaging one," Geiger said, smiling wryly. "And it'll keep you busy while you're ordering your drink."

In a series of ceremonies June 3-5, which includes a lecture by Dwight Blocker Bowers June 4, a curator at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, nearly ten years after the initial spark of inspiration, and five years after Geiger first stretched his 68' 6" by 10' sheet of canvas, the Valentine will unveil, not just a mural, but a work of top-shelf art that promises to be a Toledo cultural fixture for years to come.

For information and to purchase tickets call 419-242-2787. Space is limited.