Ricketts began his theatrical career with the Royal Circus and Equestrian Philharmonic Academy, in London, in the 1780s. He emigrated from Britain, in 1792, to establish his first circus, in Philadelphia. There, he built “Ricketts' Art Pantheon and Amphitheatre”,[1] a circus building, in the fall of 1792, in which he conducted a riding school. After training a group of Pennsylvania horses, on April 3, 1793, he gave America's first complete circus performance, which began a series of exhibitions two to three times a week. In 1797, Ricketts commemorated the retirement of his friend and fellow FreemasonGeorge Washington with a special performance. He soon performed the president's successor, John Adams.[3] On 5 September 1797 he established the first circus in Canada, in Montreal.[4]
In December 1799, three days after the death of Washington,[3] his circus building burned down. Ricketts sailed to the West Indies on the schooner Sally, but the ship was intercepted by a French privateer and taken to the island of Guadeloupe.[5] Eventually, Ricketts was able to recover some of his horses and property and even managed to perform some shows on Guadeloupe. He recovered his fortunes enough to charter a small, if unreliable, ship, intending to return to England; along the voyage, the ship sank, and all on board were lost.[1]
Gilbert Stuart portrait
John Bill Ricketts, aka, Breschard, the Circus Rider, by Gilbert Stuart
Ricketts is identified as the subject of an unfinished portrait of ca. 1795–99 by Gilbert Stuart. The painting's current provenance includes the sitter's brother, Francis Ricketts; it was later owned by Peter Grain and George Washington Riggs.[6] In 1879, George C. Mason published The Life and Works of Gilbert Stuart, in which he described the painting as "an unfinished picture, which, there is strong reason for believing, was painted by Stuart" and identified the subject as Breschard, the Circus Rider.[7] It was under this title that the painting was displayed at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston in 1880.[8] In 1942 the painting entered the collection of the National Gallery of Art, which changed the identification to "John Bill Ricketts" by 1947.[9]
^Jando, Dominique (2018). Philip Astley and The Horsemen Who Invented The Circus. Circopedia. p. 95. ISBN978-1984041319.
^ ab"Ricketts Circus Historical Marker"; Explore PA History
^Moy, James S. (1 January 1980). "The First Circus in Eastern Canada". Theatre Research in Canada / Recherches théâtrales au Canada. 1: 12–23. doi:10.3138/tric.1.1.12. ISSN 1913-9101.
^Whitman, Matthew. "John Bill Ricketts, One Mystery Unraveled". www.matthewwhitman.com. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
^NGA website: John Bill Ricketts—exhibition history
^Tattersfield, Nigel (December 2013). ‘Caught in the Act: John Bill Ricketts as Glimpsed by Thomas Bewick’. Print Quarterly (XXX, No. 4): pp. 422-426.
Further reading
Batson, Kim (2013). "Transatlantic Journeys: John Bill Ricketts and the Edinburgh Equestrian Circus". Popular Entertainment Studies. 4 (2): 5–28. Retrieved 15 April 2014.
john, bill, ricketts, 1769, 1802, english, equestrian, brought, first, modern, circus, united, states, ricketts, circus, historical, marker, 12th, market, philadelphia, ricketts, horse, cornplanter, performing, contents, biography, gilbert, stuart, portrait, a. John Bill Ricketts 1769 1802 1 was an English 2 equestrian who brought the first modern circus to the United States Ricketts Circus Historical Marker at 12th and Market Sts Philadelphia PA Ricketts and his horse Cornplanter performing Contents 1 Biography 2 Gilbert Stuart portrait 3 See also 4 References 5 Further reading 6 External linksBiography EditRicketts began his theatrical career with the Royal Circus and Equestrian Philharmonic Academy in London in the 1780s He emigrated from Britain in 1792 to establish his first circus in Philadelphia There he built Ricketts Art Pantheon and Amphitheatre 1 a circus building in the fall of 1792 in which he conducted a riding school After training a group of Pennsylvania horses on April 3 1793 he gave America s first complete circus performance which began a series of exhibitions two to three times a week In 1797 Ricketts commemorated the retirement of his friend and fellow Freemason George Washington with a special performance He soon performed the president s successor John Adams 3 On 5 September 1797 he established the first circus in Canada in Montreal 4 In December 1799 three days after the death of Washington 3 his circus building burned down Ricketts sailed to the West Indies on the schooner Sally but the ship was intercepted by a French privateer and taken to the island of Guadeloupe 5 Eventually Ricketts was able to recover some of his horses and property and even managed to perform some shows on Guadeloupe He recovered his fortunes enough to charter a small if unreliable ship intending to return to England along the voyage the ship sank and all on board were lost 1 Gilbert Stuart portrait Edit John Bill Ricketts aka Breschard the Circus Rider by Gilbert Stuart Ricketts is identified as the subject of an unfinished portrait of ca 1795 99 by Gilbert Stuart The painting s current provenance includes the sitter s brother Francis Ricketts it was later owned by Peter Grain and George Washington Riggs 6 In 1879 George C Mason published The Life and Works of Gilbert Stuart in which he described the painting as an unfinished picture which there is strong reason for believing was painted by Stuart and identified the subject as Breschard the Circus Rider 7 It was under this title that the painting was displayed at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston in 1880 8 In 1942 the painting entered the collection of the National Gallery of Art which changed the identification to John Bill Ricketts by 1947 9 See also EditHistory of juggling 10 References Edit a b c John Bill Ricketts Circopedia Jando Dominique 2018 Philip Astley and The Horsemen Who Invented The Circus Circopedia p 95 ISBN 978 1984041319 a b Ricketts Circus Historical Marker Explore PA History Moy James S 1 January 1980 The First Circus in Eastern Canada Theatre Research in Canada Recherches theatrales au Canada 1 12 23 doi 10 3138 tric 1 1 12 ISSN 1913 9101 Whitman Matthew John Bill Ricketts One Mystery Unraveled www matthewwhitman com Retrieved 6 June 2018 NGA website John Bill Ricketts provenance Mason George C The Life and Works of Gilbert Stuart New York NY Charles Scribner s Sons 1879 p 151 NGA website John Bill Ricketts bibliography NGA website John Bill Ricketts exhibition history Tattersfield Nigel December 2013 Caught in the Act John Bill Ricketts as Glimpsed by Thomas Bewick Print Quarterly XXX No 4 pp 422 426 Further reading EditBatson Kim 2013 Transatlantic Journeys John Bill Ricketts and the Edinburgh Equestrian Circus Popular Entertainment Studies 4 2 5 28 Retrieved 15 April 2014 External links Edithttp www circusinamerica org public people public show 67 This Philadelphia related article is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title John Bill Ricketts amp oldid 1089973677, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
