The DIA will display some of the best examples of American "Royal Marionettes," from its Paul McPharlin Puppetry Collection from June 29, 2011 to Jan. 1, 2012. Artists and puppeteers Walter Deaves, Daniel Meader and others followed a tradition of marionette theater introduced to America by English puppeteers in the 1870s. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, these puppets were part of large troupes that performed in music halls and vaudeville theaters around the world in acts that featured strange and surprising characters.