The Bright Shawl

Due to Shinn's fascination with the theater, the booming motion picture industry of the early 20th Century certainly captured his attention. Much to his delight, Shinn was asked to serve as Art Director for a Goldwyn Pictures film, Polly of the Circus. The media praised the studio for having the foresight to hire an artist to design their backgrounds. After his successful stint with Goldwyn Pictures, Shinn excitedly accepted the same role with Inspiration Pictures. Inspiration was developing a film based upon a novel by Joseph Hergesheimer titled The Bright Shawl. The novel, and subsequent film, portrayed the political intrigue surrounding the Cuban revolt of 1870. The present work, The Bright Shawl, is a stage set design that Shinn created for the film.