LIFE BEYOND FIRST CLASS
ARTS & COLLECTIBLES
SHOWSTOPPER
A recent exhibition at Helicline Fine Art transforms
nearly a century of Broadway, film, and stage design into
collectible works that preserve the artistry behind some of
entertainment’s most unforgettable performances.
SAMANTHA GREENE
William Gropper (1898 - 1977), Opera Box, 20 x 16 inches,
Oil on board, 1957, Signed lower left.
The worlds of theater, cinema, and visual art have long shared a quiet exchange of influence. Sets become architecture, costumes become sculpture, and drawings created for a fleeting performance often outlive the productions they once served. A recent exhibition at Helicline Fine Art in Midtown Manhattan revisits that intersection with Showstoppers: The Art of Stage and Screen, a collection that transforms nearly a century of performance history into objects of enduring artistic value.
Spanning the 1920s through the 1990s, the exhibition gathers more than three dozen works that capture the spectacle of Broadway, Hollywood, opera, dance, and popular entertainment. Costume sketches, set design drawings, paintings, and sculptures reveal the visual imagination behind productions that helped define modern entertainment. What once existed backstage now emerges as collectible art in its own right.
Many of the featured works were created by artists whose influence extended well beyond the theater. Among them are celebrated designers and modernists including Boris Aronson, Cecil Beaton, William Gropper, Edith Head, Al Hirschfeld, Hilary Knight, Gaston Lachaise, Bob Mackie, Jo Mielziner, Irene Sharaff, Yves Saint Laurent, Tony Walton, Miles White, and Richard Whorf. Many were recipients of Tony® and Academy Award® honors, their designs shaping the visual language of entire eras of performance.
The subjects represented read like a cultural time capsule of twentieth-century entertainment. Productions such as My Fair Lady, West Side Story, Funny Girl, The King and I, Sweet Charity, Anything Goes, and South Pacific appear alongside works inspired by the cinematic glamour of Hollywood and the legendary nightlife of Studio 54. The exhibition suggests that the artistry behind these productions was never merely decorative. Instead, it helped define how audiences remember the performances themselves.
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1. Al Hirschfeld (1903-2003), Meryl Streep in “Happy End”, Sight: 22 1/4 x 13 3/4 inches, Ink on board, Signed lower right, Published June 10, 1977 in The New York Times. 2. Cecil Beaton (1904 – 1980), My Fair Lady, Sight: 12 1/2 x 11 1/2 inches, Pen and ink on paper, Signed lower right, Inscribed My Fair Lady coster costumes, lower left. 3. Edith Head (1897-1981), Elizabeth Taylor in “Elephant Walk”, Sight: 24 x 18 inches, Watercolor and pencil on paper, Inscribed in pencil: Elizabeth Taylor in, “Elephant Walk” and signed lower right 4. Yves Saint-Laurent (French, 1936-2008), Project Pour TURANGALILA, Sight: 18 3/4 x 24 3/4 inches. inscribed and signed ‘Opèra De Paris / ysl’ (lower right), ink, watercolor, and pastel on paper 5. Tony Walton (1934-2002), Michael Jackson Costume Sculpture “The Wiz”, Bronze, 12 1/2 x 6 x 3 1/2 inches, Unsigned. 6. Miles White (1915 – 2000), Bye Bye Birdie, 11 x 8 inches, Mixed Media on Paper, Signed lower right and noted, Act 1, Scene 4, Penn Station scene
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7. Irene Sharaff (1910-1993), “West Side Story” Natalie Wood as Maria, Costume Design, Sight: 16 x 12 1/2 inches, Gouache, watercolor, pen and ink on board, 1961 film, Signed and inscribed: Sharaff, West Side Story, Maria, Natalie Wood (lower right). 8. Irene Sharaff (1910-1993), Funny Girl Costume Design, 1968 Film, Sight: 15 3/4 x 12 1/2 inches, Gouache, watercolor on heavy paper, Signed and inscribed: Barbra Streisand, Funny Girl, Sharaff (lower right). 9. Theoni V. Aldredge (1922-2011), “Dreamgirls,” Costume Design for 1981 Broadway Musical, Sight: 19 x 14 inches, Watercolor, pencil on paper, Signed lower right: Dream Girls, Theoni V. Aldredge ’81., Inscribed lower left: “Effie, Deena, Lorel @ the Apollo”, Label verso: “Broadway Cares, Theoni Aldredge, Dreamgirls, United Scenic Artists”
A striking example is Tony Walton’s sculptural study for The Wiz, which translates a costume concept into a dimensional object that sits somewhere between stage design and contemporary sculpture. Similarly, Edith Head’s portrait of Elizabeth Taylor for Elephant Walk reveals the precision and elegance that made the legendary costume designer one of Hollywood’s most influential visual stylists.
Helicline Fine Art founder Keith Sherman brings a particularly personal perspective to the exhibition. Before opening the gallery in 2008, Sherman spent decades leading a communications firm deeply connected to the theater and entertainment industries in Times Square. Some of the artists represented in the exhibition were colleagues and friends, making the collection as much a reflection of lived cultural history as it is an art presentation.
That personal connection adds resonance to the works on view. Rather than functioning merely as archival artifacts, they feel like living fragments of performance culture. Each drawing or sculpture captures a moment when design, storytelling, and visual art converged on stage or screen.
The exhibition also underscores a growing recognition within the art market: that costume and stage design drawings possess the same artistic integrity as paintings or sculpture. Collectors have increasingly sought out these works not only for their connection to famous productions but also for their distinctive graphic language and historical significance.
With Showstoppers, Helicline Fine Art presents a compelling reminder that the visual imagination behind performance often becomes its most lasting legacy. The curtain may fall, but the art that shaped the spectacle continues to endure.
Works from the exhibition are available through HeliclineFineArt.com, Artsy, and 1stDibs, with in-person viewings at the gallery’s Midtown Manhattan space and private virtual presentations available by appointment.
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