Drawing time: Winsor McCay’s lightning sketches on stage and screen

Abstract

ABSTRACT Scholars of cinema history have long identified the variety-theater tradition of lightning artistry among the most crucial influences upon the emergence of motion-picture animation. This article looks specifically at the work of the prominent illustrator and animator Winsor McCay, and examines his popular vaudeville routine entitled “The Seven Ages of Man”, first performed in June 1906, both as an innovative lightning-sketch routine and as a proving ground for his trailblazing techniques of motion-picture animation. The article surveys the history of the lightning-sketch performance mode prior to McCay, then considers what can be gleaned about McCay’s own theatrical career as a lightning artist from written descriptions of his vaudeville appearances, and concludes with a discussion of how McCay’s years of frequent lightning-sketch performances may have influenced his approach to cinematic animation.