P.T. Barnum's activities in the context of the American show business development of the XIX century

The purpose of the article is to analyze the main milestones of the activity and reveal the cultural and artistic features of the figure of Phineas Taylor Barnum as a representative of show business and professional art of the showman. The methodology combines methodological tools of culturological, historical, art history, bibliographic, socio-cultural approaches. Also used general scientific research methods - analysis, synthesis - to detail the subject of research; generalization - to conceptualize the conclusions. Scientific novelty. For the first time in Ukrainian culturology and art history, an attempt was made to briefly analyze the activities of FT Barnum and its significance for show business. Conclusions. Thus, the popularity of F. Barnum's show was based on the exploitation of unusual images and the image of his "star" artists. He also proved that show business is not only a part of mass culture, but also entrepreneurship, which should bring financial benefits. Any offer in the show business market is just a product, no matter what wrapper it is packaged to be in demand. It is the financial gain and tastes of the mass public that dictate the rules of the game in the show business market. That is, at the end of the XIX century, the showman understood and substantiated the main components that contribute to success in show business: finance, advertising, image. Thus, F. Barnum actually became the first image-maker, publicist and producer in one person. A man who may have been intuitive at first, but understood not only all these things, but also the subtleties of the psychology of the mass consumer of products in the show business sphere.