A new exhibition, You’ll Be Swell! You’ll Be Great! The Fine Art of Performance, will be presented by Helicline Fine Art May 2-August 31. Nearly three dozen works of art will be on display, depicting theatre, film, dance, music, and the circus, including the Al Hirschfeld drawing of the original production of The King and I seen above. Digital viewings of the collection will be available on the Helicline site, artsy.net, and 1stDibs.com. In-person viewings can be arranged by appointment at the midtown Manhattan gallery.

The exhibition will feature paintings, design drawings, illustrations, photographs, and much more from iconic Broadway shows, films, and related performance ephemera. The represented shows include Hello, Dolly!, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, My Fair Lady, The King & I, Cabaret, On the Town, Bye Bye Birdie, Day and Night, and The Defiant Ones, as well as works depicting other aspects of the performing profession. All works were created between the 1920s and 1970s.

Artists represented in the collection include Boris Aronson, Leon Bibel, Cecil Beaton, Jean Chassaing, David Fredenthal, William Gropper, Al Hirschfeld, Roddy McDowall, Paul Meltsner, Jo Mielziner, Hugo Scheiber, Oliver Smith, Miles White, Freddy Whittop, Richard Whorf, Louis Wolchonok, and more.

“While I have operated Helicline Fine Art since 2008, my life-long work has been, and continues to be, running a Times Square communications firm. From day one of my professional life, I have been working in entertainment, primarily the theatre, selling two hours of magic in a dark room. Some of these artists were friends, even clients. Their work has great significance to me, and I believe it will resonate deeply with those who love entertainment and the arts. These works are fine art.” said Keith Sherman, owner of the gallery.

Helicline Fine Art is a private Manhattan art gallery that specializes in modernism, American scene, social realism, mural studies, industrial landscapes, regionalism, abstraction and more.