Clivette, Merton. The Great Clivette Co. New York: Miner Litho, ca. 1900. Bust portrait of “The Man in Black” with four colorful imps and an owl looking on, one imp writing into a memorandum book “Clivette/The leading Magician of the World.” 28 x 42". Borders, small losses and tears in image expertly restored; B. Rare. Born in Wisconsin in 1868 and raised in the Wyoming Territory, instead of running away with the circus, Clivette’s first exposure to show business was as an acrobat, juggler, and magician touring with a Wild West show. A performer in early vaudeville, he toured the Orpheum circuit in the 1890s, and later co-edited the periodical Artist-Era with George Little. In addition to a magic act consisting primarily of sleight of hand with coins and cards, he presented masterful shadowgraphs. Clivette left the stage in the early years of the twentieth century, and became a well-regarded and widely exhibited artist. Considered one of the early Ashcan School artists and a well-known expressionist, he painted in America, then traveled to Europe where he studied with the famous sculptor, Auguste Rodin, and painted what some claimed is the “greatest of all portraits of the sculptor.” Other subjects included American Indians and women in burlesque attire. Throughout the 1920s, his work was frequently exhibited both in America and abroad. Even in death, Clivette remains a mysterious figure, as no known date of death has been reported for the original “Man in Black.”