Tony Sarg: Genius at Play

Tony Sarg (1880¿1942), an American artist born in Guatemala to a diplomatic family, first achieved professional success as an illustrator in London and New York. But in the 1920s, he gained even greater renown for his touring puppet shows based on classic tales like Alice in Wonderland and Robinson Crusoe. Fusing the time-honoured craft of traditional marionette shows with a playful modern sensibility, Sarg¿s productions were foundational to American puppetry: Jim Henson can be considered a direct artistic descendant. Yet this was only one facet of Sarg¿s varied accomplishments: he was also a pioneer in animated films and children¿s books, and, as a longtime designer for Macy¿s, he invented the gigantic balloons used in the firm¿s Thanksgiving Day Parade. (He also employed one of his parade balloons in the famous Nantucket Sea Serpent hoax of 1937.)

This abundantly illustrated volume, published to coincide with a major exhibition organised by the Norman Rockwell Museum, is th