In My Studio, Evelyn Nesbit, Tired Butterfly
Artist
Rudolf Eickemeyer Jr.
(American, 1862 - 1932)
Date1909
MediumGelatin silver print
DimensionsImage and sheet: 7 3/8 × 9 3/8 inches (18.73 × 23.81 cm)
Mount: 10 7/8 × 15 15/16 inches (27.62 × 40.48 cm)
Mount: 10 7/8 × 15 15/16 inches (27.62 × 40.48 cm)
Credit LineGift of Hallmark Cards, Inc.
Object number2005.27.1325
SignedOn mount recto, lower right, in orange pencil: "RE / 1909"
InscribedOn mount recto, lower right corner, in black pen: "In my Studio / To Mr. Whelan / with compliments of / Rudolf Eickemeyer"
Markingsnone
On View
Not on viewCollections
DescriptionImage of a woman in a floral dressing gown, lying on bear skin rug with her eyes closed.Exhibition HistoryIn the Public Eye: Photography and Fame. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, March 8 - June 15, 2008, no cat.
Rotation 18. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, December 17, 2014 – May 3, 2015, no cat.
Evelyn Nesbit was a renowned stage actress and artist’s model. These portraits were made by two of the most respected photographic artists of the day. Rudolf Eickemeyer’s image exemplifies Nesbit’s double identity: she is at once herself and one of her stage roles, the “Tired Butterfly.” Gertrude Käsebier’s portrait is also symbolic. Nesbit here embodies the qualities of both youthful innocence and the femme fatale, characteristic of the era’s depictions of womanhood.
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