Jimmy Armstrong: The Dwarf Clown

Jimmy Armstrong, known as “The Dwarf Clown” at the Clyde Beatty Circus in Palisades, New Jersey in 1958. Captured by photographer Bruce Davidson as part of his series, Circus.

Davidson first noticed Armstrong standing alone outside the tent, smoking a cigarette. Dressed in a tuxedo and top hat, he clutched a small bouquet of paper flowers, lost in thought.

“He stood there pensively, absorbed in the privacy of his inner world,” Davidson recalled. “He seemed to understand that it wasn’t his clown face or stature that drew me in, but the depth of his solitude.”

Despite rarely speaking, the two formed a quiet bond. “In Jimmy, I saw something beyond loneliness – it was a story of survival.” – Bruce