Down at Jim Kelly's
Reginald Marsh (1895-1954)

The word "burlesque" means to parody of mock derisively. It also means a sort of vaudeville characterized by low comedy and striptease. Marsh's painting illustrates both meanings. March was an American, a "social realist," who painted humorous and bawdy scenes of New York in the 1930s. Here he's making fun of Lloyd Goodrich, one of the pioneers of art scholarship, who sits to the right of the young lady's boa. Kuhlau's Allegro Burlesco will come to life if played in the same spirit as Marsh's painting. Have fun with it; don't take it too seriously.