I have three happy clowns (8x10 inch oil on masonite) signed and in their original frames. They were originally purchased in 1963 by Jerry Eider and horse trainer Jimmy Jordan for a bar they were opening in Arcadia, CA a few blocks from Santa Anita Racetrack called Clown Town. Four Julian Ritter paintings were purchased along with some other artist’s work to decorate the Clown Town.

I came into ownership of the pieces when my partner and I purchased Clown Town from Eider and Jordan in 1966. As part of the sale, Eider chose to keep one of the paintings.

Around 1967-68, a local gallery had a showing of Julian's work. I stopped by the gallery which was just around the corner from Clown Town and told the owner that I had three Julian Ritter clown paintings and that I would love for Julian to stop by Clown Town, have a drink and take a look at the paintings. Julian came to Clown Town and looked at the paintings and confirmed that he painted them and that they were some of his first clown paintings. He apparently chose to work in the smaller 8x10 format as he was perfecting his technique with these clown paintings.

Each of the paintings is signed “Julian” in block lettering in the lower-right corner.

I was offered $2000 for each painting in the early 1980s. The items were appraised in 2004 with prices ranging from $4500 to $5000.

You can download the higher-resolution image by clicking on the painting and then clicking the “Download” link.

If you are interested in making an offer on these paintings, please contact me at:

tommyt.tft@cox.net