Be part of a rare opportunity to experience Marc Chagall’s legendary Le Cirque portfolio for FREE on Gallery Night! Iconic attributes of Chagall’s creations – his quintessential use of vivid color, dreamlike composition and fanciful characters – befittingly capture his lure to the circus and its emblematic encapsulation of the human condition.

‘For me, a circus is a magic show that appears and disappears like a world. These clowns, bareback riders and acrobats have made themselves at home in my visions. Why? Why am I so touched by their make-up and their grimaces? With them I can move towards new horizons.’ –Marc Chagall

Le Cirque summons the spectacle of the circus experience in all its colorful variety — clowns, acrobats and women riding bareback, stands brimming with onlookers – and consists of 23 color and 15 black-and-white lithographs published in 1967 by Tériade Éditions. The whimsical prints will be accompanied by a display that explores Wisconsin’s grand circus history, and celebrates the tradition of Milwaukee’s Great Circus Parade.

Marc Chagall’s Le Cirque series is on loan from the permanent collection of the Manitowoc-based Rahr-West Art Museum.