The Crazed Magician

Whimsical illustration of an overly enthusiastic magician and his "Learned Chicken." Back in Vaudeville and traveling medicine show days "The Learned Chicken" was an act where the audience would call out simple arithmetic problems and the chicken would peck out the correct answer.

How did it work? The handler would secretly code the chicken with a hand gesture. Simple, but effective!

This painting is an homage to this time-honored (and forgotten) entertainment.