Co-owners Keith Sherman and Roy Goldberg of the prominent midtown Manhattan gallery known as Helicline Fine Art, have recently opened their remarkable online exhibition You’ll Be Swell! You’ll Be Great! The Fine Art of Performance—a song lyric from the musical Gypsy by Jule Styne, Arthur Laurents and Stephen Sondheim. The exhibition is a culmination of Sherman’s career involving the entertainment field and the duo’s joint interest in theater, bringing together their personal collection of approximately 36 works of art depicting theatre, film and dance, created between the 1920s and ’70s. 
William Groper (1897-1977), Backstage, ca. 1950. Oil on canvas, 30 x 24 in., signed lower left.
“We’ve been collecting for three and half decades,” says Sherman, “and we only acquire things that we love. Roy and I are at a point where we have a lot of [art] because we fall in love too easily! We buy things and live with them, and we’re okay to let some other family feel the joy that we felt. It’s like they’re on loan to us but hopefully [these works] will live on beyond our lifetimes.”
The exhibition is also informed by Sherman’s other career running a Times Square communications firm. “From day one of my professional life, I have been working in entertainment, primarily the theater, selling two hours of magic in a dark room,” he explains. “Some of these artists were friends, even clients. Their work has great significance to me, and I believe it will resonate deeply with those who love entertainment and the arts.”
Oliver Smith (1918-1994), On the Town, Third Act Curtain, 1944. Gouache and watercolor on paper, 13¾ x 20½ in., signed lower right. Provenance: Betty Comden Estate.
A particular favorite of Sherman’s is Miles White’s (1915-2000) Bye Bye Birdie costume drawing. “He was a close friend and the costume designer for the original Broadway play Oklahoma and other iconic shows for 25 years,” says Sherman and Goldberg. This particular drawing is from the 1960s Broadway musical Bye Bye Birdie, and also comes with gold lamé fabric swatches attached to the back.
Al Hirschfeld (1903-2003), The King and I. Ink on board, 14¾ x 30 in., signed lower right. From the original production published in The New York Times on March 25, 1951.
Another significant piece is the oil painting Backstage by the great American modernist William Gropper (1897-1977), coming from the artist’s estate and featuring a female performer getting dressed. There is a second Gropper exhibition piece as well titled Dance Rehearsal—a large, colorful oil of practicing dancers. Gropper was a New Yorker who is more widely known for his social realism and political cartoons. “He was clearly [also] a man of the theater,” says Sherman, “and we only have two of his many theatre artworks he created, exploring the joy of life and culture.”
The exhibition will also have available The King and I, a unique Al Hirschfeld (1903-2003) ink on board depicting the original 1951 production and featuring the performers Gertrude Lawrence and Yul Brynner. “Hirschfeld worked for The New York Times for most of the 20th century,” says Sherman, “and was so well known for his depictions of American popular culture. A funny story behind this piece—A year after it was exhibited at the Museum of the City of New York, for whatever reason, it was found at a thrift shop, and a gentleman bought it for $9.75 in 1963. He lived with it his whole life and his son has recently allowed us to offer it.”
William Groper (1897-1977), Dance Rehearsal, 1947. Oil on canvas, 60 x 44 in., signed lower left.
Additional works of importance include the Oliver Smith (1918-1994) gouache and watercolor On the Town, Third Act Curtain, depicting the actual theater curtain for the show from the third act, acquired from the estate of Betty Comden, who wrote the show with her writing partner Adolph Green. Collectors will also find impeccable works like Freddy Whittop’s (1911-2001) Hello Dolly! Costume Drawing, Richard Whorf’s (1906-1966) oil ‘Till the Clouds Roll By’ Film Set featuring Sinatra performing “Old Man River,” and Leon Bibel’s stunning oil painting (1912-1995) The Audience.
Artworks will continue to be added to the show as they are acquired. The entirety of exhibition is currently on view and available for purchase through Helicline’s website, www.artsy.net and www.1stdibs.com. In person viewings can be arranged at by appointment at Helicline Fine Art’s gallery in Manhattan. —
Powered by Froala Editor
