Parlour Games: Ruloff Kip’s Toy Theatre

Exhibition Website

Jul 6 2016 - Feb 6 2017

McNay Art Museum

San Antonio, TX

While vacationing at his Long Island country home in the winter of 1919, Ruloff Kip created a toy theatre for his young daughter, Elizabeth. The large, elaborate theatre features moving mechanisms, several working lighting schemes, and an array of set drops and cut-out characters, based on Kip’s house and family members. Long thought to be the work of artist Everett Shinn, recent research has uncovered interesting new perspectives on the theatre itself, as well as the fascinating background of its true creator and his family.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website

  • American
  • 20th Century
  • Architecture
  • Ruloff Kip

Exhibition Venues & Dates