''The Face on the Barroom Floor'' is a

painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

on the floor of the

Teller House Teller House is a historic hotel in Central City, Colorado. Built in 1872, the building now serves as a restaurant. The bar at the Teller House is well known for the " Face on the Barroom Floor," a painting of a woman's face on the wooden floor ...

Bar in Central City, Colorado,

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. It was painted in 1936 by

Herndon Davis Herndon Davis (1901-1962) was an American artist, journalist, illustrator, and painter. He worked at the National War College in Washington, D.C. creating maps of China and Japan. Davis was an illustrator for New York, Washington, D.C. and Denver ...

. The Face On The Barroom Floor was referenced in the Three Stooges short "Movie Maniacs" in 1936

Story of the painting

Davis had been commissioned by the Central City Opera Association to paint a series of paintings for the

Central City Opera House The Central City Opera House is located in the Central City/Black Hawk Historic District in Central City, Colorado, United States. It was constructed in 1878. It has offered operatic and theatrical productions that drew prominent actors and perf ...

; he was also requested to do some work at the Teller House. One afternoon at the bar he became embroiled in a heated argument with Ann Evans, the project director, about the manner in which his work should be executed. The upshot of the fight was that Davis was told to quit, or else he would be fired. According to one version of the story, the painting was the suggestion of a

busboy In North America, a busser, more commonly known as a busboy or busgirl, is a person who works in the restaurant and catering industry clearing tables, taking dirty dishes to the dishwasher, setting tables, refilling and otherwise assisting the ...

named Joe Libby; knowing that Davis would soon be fired, he suggested that the artist "give them something to remember imby". In Davis' own words,People – Herndon Davis

The Central City Opera House Association hired me to do a series of paintings and sketches of the famous mining town, which they were then rejuvenating as an opera center and tourist attraction. I stayed at the Teller House while working up there, and the whim struck me to paint a face on the floor of the old Teller House barroom. In its mining boom heyday it was just such a floor as the ragged artist used in d’Arcy's famous old poem. But the hotel manager and the bartender would have none of such tomfoolery. They refused me permission to paint the face. Still the idea haunted me, and in my last night in Central City, I persuaded the bellboy Jimmy Libby to give me a hand. After midnight, when the coast was clear, we slipped down there. Jimmy held a candle for me and I painted as fast as I could. Yet it was 3 AM when I finished.

Whatever the inspiration, Davis did not sign his work, and soon the bar's owners chose to capitalize on it. They advertised the painting as that from the poem " The Face on the Barroom Floor" by Hugh Antoine D'Arcy. The actual subject of the painting is Davis' wife Edna Juanita (Cotter) Davis "Nita". She lived at 1323 Kalamath st, Denver, Co

Chamber opera

The Teller House painting was the inspiration for a chamber opera titled '' The Face on the Barroom Floor'' by Henry Mollicone.

References

External links

Story of the painting

Herndon Davis: Painting Colorado History, 1901–1962, by Craig Leavitt and Thomas J. Noel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Face on the Barroom Floor 1936 paintings Central City, Colorado