Wood Gaylor’s Pekin Cabaret, a gouache, is typical of his best work: vivid colors and action, taking place somewhere in lower Manhattan. Gaylor’s painting probably records one of many events held under the auspices of The Penguin. Walt Kuhn, the Armory Show organizer, formed The Penguin to satisfy his ambitions for hosting costumed balls, skits, musical performances, and exhibitions devoted to experimental and advanced art. Wood Gaylor was one of Kuhn’s loyal assistants in making this range of activities successful and his most successful paintings depict Penguin events. Here, the red, white, and blue skirt and bunting alludes to the 1917 date of the painting, the year when our country entered World War I. This painting has a distinguished provenance; it was formerly in the collection of Arthur Bowen Davies, Armory Show president, painter, and advisor to a number of collectors. Kuhn and Davies were close friends and co-conspirators on a number of art exhibitions and events that promoted early modernism.