Artwork Page for May Milton

Details / Information for May Milton

May Milton

1895

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

(French, 1864–1901)
Culture
France, 19th century
Medium
color lithograph
Measurements
Sheet: 79.5 x 61.5 cm (31 5/16 x 24 3/16 in.)
Credit Line
Mr. and Mrs. Lewis B. Williams Collection 1952.10
Catalogue raisonné
Wittrock Vol.II.P17,b ; Delteil 356
State
D. II/II
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
Print
?

Did You Know?

May Milton was the romantic partner of May Belfort, another performer whom Toulouse-Lautrec frequently depicted.

Description

Posters grew in popularity after 1881, when many restrictions on their placement were lifted and it became unlawful to remove or destroy them. The first exhibition of posters took place in 1884, and they were soon accepted as a legitimate art form. Lautrec, a gifted draftsman, excelled at designing arresting lithographs. May Milton, one of his boldest compositions, illustrates Lautrec's innovative style based on a dynamic pattern of flat, simplified, brightly colored shapes and dramatic silhouettes. Lautrec, an astute observer of character and physical features, captured the life of a decadent era in his radically concise, vigorous representations. May Milton was an English dancer who appeared at the Moulin Rouge, one of Paris's most popular café-concerts. This poster was made to advertise her tour of the United States.
Printed poster of May Milton, a woman looking to her right, wearing a billowing, puff-sleeved cream dress, the color extending across her arms and face. A pink dot colors her pursed lips, blue her eyes, and her yellow, chin-length hair partially covers the "l" and "t" in the name "May Milton" that arcs behind her head against the blue background. Her dress turns up on our left, showing a red underside with black squiggles.

May Milton

1895

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

(French, 1864–1901)
France, 19th century

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