The Flying Codonas

Frustrated by economic troubles caused by the Great Depression (1929–39), Curry spent three months in 1932 traveling with the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus as it embarked upon its spring tour, stopping in several states on the East Coast. He was particularly taken by the strength and bravery of the aerialists, and executed numerous sketches of the trapeze acts of the Flying Codonas troupe in rehearsal and performance; his interest in these performers continued after he returned home, and he adapted many sketches drawn on site at the circus into finished paintings and prints.