WYATT, Snap (1905-1984). Riverview Park “Palace of Wonders” Sideshow Banner. Tampa: Snap Wyatt Productions, ca. 1950s. Paint on canvas. Sideshow banner from Chicago’s Riverview Park, depicting a variety of “freaks,” among them a fire eater, a strong man, and others, with a central medallion depicting a two-faced woman. 84 x 312”. Expected wear from age and exposure. Chicago’s Riverview Park opened on July 2, 1904, in the Roscoe Village neighborhood. Throughout its 63 years of existence over 200 million people passed through its iconic castle-esque gates, with the Palace of Wonders among its most popular attractions. Following the park’s closure in 1967 its contents went to the auction block, with the majority of them failing to sell. Among those pieces which did survive was the Riverview Carousel, still in operation today at Atlanta’s Six Flags Over Georgia and now on the National Register of Historic Places. Snap Wyatt was one of the most prolific and popular painters of the sideshow era, renowned for his bold use of color and the sheer scale of his creations. Literature: Chuck Wlodarczyk, Riverview: Gone But Not Forgotten (1904-1967), p. 23 (illustration). A copy of this book is included with the lot.