Paul Ninas (American/New Orleans, 1903-1964), "Untitled (Carnival Scene)", c. 1938, graphite on paper, unsigned, artist estate label with title and date on backing paper, 17 1/2 in. x 35 in., framed Provenance: Collection of Allison Kendrick, The Carroll-Crawford House, New Orleans. Note: Paul Ninas lived and worked in New Orleans from 1932 until his death in 1964. After his arrival in the city, his modernist Caribbean subjects transitioned to South Louisiana ones – classic street scenes, local industry, wharves and of course, Carnival. The large-scale graphite drawing offered here captures all the frenetic energy, chaos, and licentiousness of a Mardi Gras parade route. The line of figures, facing the passing horse-drawn float barely seen in the background, reach for tokens thrown by riders and otherwise engage in Mardi Gras revelry. The careful details of the masks, costumes, and discarded wine bottle manifest into a timeless scene of the annual bacchanalian celebration. The strong horizontal format of the drawing lends credence to the thought that the work is likely a study for a mural. Ninas completed two WPA murals, one at the Maybin School in New Orleans and the other in the post office of Henderson, Texas, but sadly neither survived. He also was privately commissioned to create a four-panel mural at the Sazerac Bar in 1938 at the Roosevelt Hotel in New Orleans and, in 1945, three large panels for the Delta Line, an ocean-going passenger steamship based in New Orleans. This drawing bears striking stylistic similarity to the murals in the Sazerac Bar, likely completed around the same time. Ref.: Kemp, John R. “Paul Ninas.” 64 Parishes. www.64parishes.org. Accessed Oct. 11, 2021.

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