‘‘The parties were bigger. The pace was faster, the shows were broader, the buildings were higher, the morals were looser, and the liquor was cheaper.”
– F. Scott Fitzgerald.
New Year’s Eve party (ullstein bild, 1927) Courtesy of Getty Images
Although this quote could easily be applied to this day and age, Fitzgerald describes the nineteen-twenties, the lively Jazz Age. I believe that our modern world has many distinct similarities to the nineteen-twenties; many more than others would agree.
That is what fueled my desire to create a blog that educates its readers, on the relevance nineteen-twenties fashion, music and art has on the modern world. I particularly want to reach out to readers within my demographic, students aged sixteen to twenty-five. We will soon be the leaders of the world, therefore it is important that we have a clear understanding of our history and how it influences our future.
I want to look behind the cliché representations of the nineteen-twenties and dig deeper into the who, what, when, why and how’s, of this revolutionary decade.
Four women chug bottles of liquor. (Kirn Vintage Stock/Corbis, c. 1920) Courtesy of Getty Images
The nineteen-twenties was a time of women bending gender-roles and fighting for equality; African-Americans establishing themselves as free citizens within western society and Art Deco taking over the streets of Europe with bright colours and bold shapes that mirrored the radicalisation society faced in this decade.
I will investigate the culture movement, the Harlem Renaissance, to see how it paved the way for African-Americans becoming recognised citizens with equal civil rights.
Josephine Baker (Gaston Paris/Roger Viollet, 1926) Courtesy of Getty Images
I’ll research the life of entertainer Josephine Baker, and evaluate if being a black woman still as much of an inhibitor to success as it was a century ago.
I also want to touch point on Coco Chanel’s greatest rival, Elsa Schiaparelli, and see how Schiaparelli’s innovative, wearable art pieces influenced a new generation of designers.
Although the nineteen-twenties was almost a century ago, the plights and imposition of traditionalism that they faced, are still relevant issues today.
Annie Kenney and Christabel Pankhurst of the WSPU (Unknown, c. 1908) Retrieved from Wikipedia
Protesters during the Right To Life March in Washington, DC. (Mark Wilson, 2019) Courtesy of Getty Images
Women in the nineteen-twenties had fought for the right to vote, while women in twenty-nineteen are fighting for their right to abort. Both decades see women rebelling against men, who think they should decide women’s choices.
Africans-Americans then, fought to be recognised in civilisation, while African-Americans today fight to be recognised in the workplace. As our government works to close the minority achievement gap, we could look at what previous achievers did.
I want to bring those successes to light so that we can make a connection between what they did and what we could do.
The Harlem Renaissance or ‘The New Negro Movement,’ was a cultural movement that peaked in the late nineteen-twenties.
Although the movement was based in Harlem, New York, its influence extended throughout the United States; and even some parts of Europe.
‘Marcus Garvey with George O. Marke and Prince Kojo Tovalou-Houénou’ James VanDerZe, 1924 Courtesy of Howard Greenberg Gallery
The Harlem Renaissance is considered a golden age in African American culture, as it proudly championed black intellectual and artistic production. It manifested itself in literature, music, stage performance and art; It was a key element of the formation of black modernity. This movement focused on the evolution of freed slaves, incorporating their African heritage into American ideals to create their own identity and place in a civilised society.
‘Church Group with U.S Flag’ James VanDerZee, 1924 Courtesy of Howard Greenberg Gallery
The social foundations of this movement included the Great Migration. Following the Civil War, large numbers of African-Americans migrated to northern urban areas. From 1910 to 1920, 300,000 African Americans from the South had moved north, and Harlem was one of the most popular destinations for these families.
Alain Leroy Locke
Portrait of philosopher Alain Leroy Locke sitting at desk in office at Howard University. Alfred Eisenstaedt, 1946 Courtesy of Getty Images
Civil Rights activist, Dr. Alain Leroy Locke is often identified as the ‘Father of the Harlem Renaissance’. Having received a PhD from Harvard, and being the first African American Rhodes Scholar to come to Oxford, Locke was one of the key intellectuals behind the Harlem Renaissance.
Having studied African culture its influences on the western world, he encouraged black artists to look to African sources for inspiration and to discover materials and techniques for their work. In his publications, he would argue that, while art could function as propaganda, artists should be free to choose their subjects. Locke recognised European interest in African art as a means of emphasising African-American modernity and black Modernism.
‘The New Negro’, 1925 Courtesy of National Portrait Gallery
He introduced American readers to the Harlem Renaissance by editing a special Harlem issue for Survey Graphic, 1925, which he expanded into the anthology, The New Negro, 1925.
“Harlem is the precious fruit in the Garden of Eden, the big apple.”
Alain Leroy Locke
Harlem Renaissance Art
Harlem Renaissance art always had an emphasis on Africa as the origin of African-American culture and often featured bold colors, composed in an expressionist fashion. Many of these pieces portray educated, middle-class, African-Americans dancing, making music, dining or engaging in other past times. As well as that, jungle and tribal scenes were often depicted as a way of honouring African-American heritage. Tribal African imagery was juxtaposed with modern art, resulting in a revolutionary genre that linked African heritage with social advancement. Particularly popular art styles during the Harlem Renaissance include Art Deco, Surrealism, and Impressionism.
Aaron Douglas
Aaron Douglas as he works at his easel (Robert Abbott Sengstacke, c.1970) Courtesy of Getty Images
The most celebrated Harlem Renaissance artist is Aaron Douglas, often called as “the Father of Black American Art,”. Douglas had a unique artistic style that fused his interests in modernism and African art. He adapted African techniques to his paintings and murals, and book illustrations; his work proudly linked African-Americans with their heritage. His paintings are semi-abstract, two-dimensional, and geometrical, which was typical of the Art Deco style.
‘Into Bondage’ (Aaron Douglas, 1936) Courtesy of National Gallery of Art
Douglas illustrated for the National Urban League’s magazine, and ‘The Crisis’, by the NAACP; two most important magazines of the Harlem Renaissance. He caught the attention of W.E.B. Du Bois and Dr. Alain Locke who were looking for young African American artists who championed African heritage in their art. He was commissioned to illustrate Locke’s publication ‘The New Negro’. His work soon became inspiration for future black artists. David C. Driskell, artist and scholar of African American art said, “At a time when it was unpopular to dignify the black image in white America, Douglas refused to compromise and see blacks as anything less than a proud and majestic people.”
“Do not call me the Father of African American Arts, for I am just a son of Africa, and paint for what inspires me.”
Aaron Douglas
James Van Der Zee
James Van Der Zee (Harry Hamburg/NY Daily News Archive, 1982) Courtesy of Getty Images
Another notable figure is photographer James Van Der Zee. He is credited for chronicling the Harlem Renaissance with his photography. Van Der Zee gained a reputation for taking glamorous studio portraits. “He wanted to have his clients feel that they were looking handsome or beautiful,” his wife said. Van Der Zee’s sitters often brought their best clothes and copied celebrity poses and expressions, in the shoots.
In 1969 his photos were featured as part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibition, ‘Harlem on My Mind’ , which showcased life during the Harlem Renaissance. Current black photographers and filmmakers such as Dawoud Bey, Jamel Shabazz, and Barry Jenkins have credited Van Der Zee as an inspiration.
Harlem Nightlife
Jazz music became popular during the Harlem Renaissance and with it came a vibrant nightlife.
The Cotton Club (George Rinhart/Corbis, c. 1920) Courtesy of Getty Images
Jazz played at speakeasies offering illegal liquor, often accompanied by elaborate floor shows. The most successful of these was the Cotton Club. The less open-minded of the community disdained these clubs, while others believed they were a sign that black culture was moving towards acceptance.
Jazz became a great draw for not only Harlem residents, but outside white audiences also. The Savoy opened in 1927, it was an integrated ballroom with two bandstands that featured continuous jazz and dancing well past midnight. While it was fashionable to frequent Harlem nightlife, entrepreneurs realized that some white people wanted to experience black culture without having to socialize with African Americans and created clubs to cater to them.
Flappers and musicians perform during a Charleston dance contest at the Parody Club. (Hulton Archive, 1926) Courtesy of Getty Images
As Harlem became one of the centers of jazz music, American fashion magazines pointed to its importance to New York nightlife, covering the popular nightclubs and the celebrities who performed there. By 1931 Vogue reported that ‘Every one can go to Harlem – and everyone does. You might almost say it was part of an American education to see the dusky high lights of Harlem’
Harlem was perceived as a place where one could throw caution to the wind and engage in unconstrained, immoral behavior. A guide to the nightlife of New York City in 1931 stated that Harlem, like Paris, ‘changes people. Especially the “proper” kind, once they get into its swing’.
Young girls dancing the Charleston in Harlem (NY Daily News Archive, c.1920) Courtesy of Getty Images
The Black Bottom, like the Charleston, was danced by African Americans in the South, before African American composer Perry Bradford introduced it in 1919 as a dance-song. Theatrical producer, George White saw the Black Bottom in Harlem in 1924 and had it adapted for his Broadway review Scandals of 1926, after which it became a dance craze. The Black Bottom incorporated savage, vulgar movements such as: slapping the backside with forward and backward hopping, feet stomping and pelvic gyrations. The Charleston and the Black Bottom were refined in order to suit the white American audience.
Actress Joan Crawford dancing the ‘Black Bottom’ (Archive Photos, 1926) Courtesy of Getty Images
Fashion
The popularity of the Black Bottom and the Charleston influenced the fashion. By the mid 1920s dance dresses were short and often the arms were bare, to allow inhibited movement. A flapper who wore these scandalous dresses and danced the Charleston was seen as wild and untamed.
Bee Jackson, the World Champion of ‘The Charleston’ (Hulton-Deutsch Collection/Corbis, c.1920) Courtesy of Getty Images
French couturiere J. Suzanne Talbot designed a 1927 evening dress fringed and strung with wooden beads. The exposed legs and fringe echoed tribal African dress and, along with the percussion sound it created, exaggerated the primitive origins of the dance. The shortness of evening dresses for dancing in turn encouraged the shortening of day dresses.
Designer Paul Poiret, who was described as the father of the flapper movement, pointed to Jazz’s influence on French fashion, predicting that ‘the implacable and hypertrophic rhythms of the new dances, the blues and the Charleston, the din of unearthly instruments, and the musical idioms of exotic lands’ would lead to the androgyny later seen in women’s fashion. Women adapted men’s fashions to something with more grace and style suitable for a lady. Because of this new style, women created a new image of desirability.
Three women wearing, from left, a tweed dress with a separate shoulder cape by London Trades, a jersey dress with attached shoulder cape by Chanel, and a tweed double-breasted coat by Schiaparelli. (Illustration by Jean Pages/Condé Nast, 1929) Courtesy of Getty Images
Summary
Alpha Phi Alpha Basketball Team (James Van Der Zee, 1926) Courtesy of National Gallery of Art
From my research, I gathered that the Harlem Renaissance did not solely break boundaries for African-Americans but western society in general. The freedom and primitive nature associated with Africans, and in-turn the Harlem Renaissance, influenced the western world to loosen their ideals of the ultimately civilised society, that the Victorians and Edwardians strived to achieve.
I believe World War One opened the new generations’ eyes to just how ruthless and uncivilised people could be, regardless of their race or class. They saw the need to enjoy life, while they had it, and to live it unapologetically. Women began to rebel and step out of the restricted mould the patriarchal environment put them in. Black people making a stand gave western women the courage to find their voice as well. They explored their sexuality and realised the impact they could create.
As the young generation partied in the integrated clubs they began to understand the thought of everyone, no matter their colour or gender, becoming equal members of the nation; making the Harlem Renaissance the foundation for our diverse and equal society.
Following the boundaries the Harlem Renaissance broke, it is almost as if society got scared of that much progress, leading to further enforcement of segregation.
The values and ideas the Harlem Renaissance created about equality were presented again in the Civil Rights Movement during the 50s and 60s. We saw Harlem Renaissance figures such as Josephine Baker come back, to finish what they started in the 20s. Fortunately, this time African Americans were able to achieve the justice they fought so long for.
“Elsa Schiaparelli was launched as a fashion designer by Vogue in November 1927 and for over a decade she’s and her rival Gabrielle ‘Coco’. Chanel dominated fashion both on and off the pages of the magazine.
Elsa Schiaparelli for Vogue (Fredrich Baker/Condé Nast, 1940) Courtesy of Getty Images
Like her mentor French Couturier Paul Poiret, Schiaparelli collaborated with leading artists, illustrators and photographers. She involved herself with the principle figures of the surrealist movement, including Jean Cocteau, Eduardo Benito and Salvador Dali. Schiaparelli’s oeuvre was not confined purely to Surrealism. She moved from playful Sportswear to body-conscious silhouettes, ave women shoulders and waists, eroticised their bottoms and played with fetish and risqué symbolism.
An inspiration to Yves Saint Laurent, Jean Paul Gaultier, Stephen Jones and the equally iconoclastic and experimental Alexander McQueen, Schiaparelli saw herself first and foremost as an artist.”
-Vogue on Elsa Schiaparelli (Watt, 2012, p.9)
Early Life
Elsa Schiaparelli as a Child Extracted from ‘Elsa Schiaparelli’s Private Album’ (Berenson, 2014, p.12)
Elsa Lusia Maria Schiaparelli was born in Rome on September 10th 1890. She is of Italian, Scottish and Egyptian heritage. Schiaparelli came from a middle-class background and was very well learned and intellectual due her her family’s influence. Her father Celestino Schiaparelli was Dean of the University of Rome, as well as head of the Library of Accademia Nazionale Demi Lincei e Corsiniana. Her cousin Ernesto was an Egyptologist and her Aunt Lillian was a traveller who would always send young Elsa exotic gifts. She is also the great-niece of astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli, who discovered the canals of Mars.
Although she had a good upbringing, Schiaparelli had a strained relationship with her mother Maria-Luisa, who made it no secret to Schiaparelli, that “she was as ugly as her sister was beautiful” (Schiaparelli, 1954). This resulted in Schiaparelli becoming a strong-willed, rebellious child, who was incredibly insecure about her physical appearance.
Elsa, at the seaside in a dress of her own design Extracted from ‘Elsa Schiaparelli’s Private Album’ (Berenson, 2014, p.24)
Regardless of her insecurities, as a debutante she was a major flirt. To pass time and relieve her depression, (something she battled with throughout her life) she would amuse herself by making her admirers wear mauve, the colour of mourning. She also drew, painted and wrote poetry in her spare time. She published Arethusa in 1911, which was a slim volume of sensual poetry. The book was too free and lecherous for the time, bringing great shame to her family.
Her parents sent her to a convent boarding school in Switzerland as punishment. True to her dramatic and strong personality, she protested by going on hunger strike, and was eventually given leave.
In 1913, when her parents arranged a marriage between her and a wealthy Russian suitor, she quickly escaped to London, where she became a nanny. In London she attended lectures and visited art galleries. She attended a talk by Count William de Wendt de Kerlor, who was a paranormal expert and con man. Schiaparelli was immediately enamoured by him, they got married the next day.
Schiaparelli and her husband Count William de Wendt de Kerlor Extracted from ‘Elsa Schiaparelli’s Private Album’ (Berenson, 2014, p.35)
They married at a registry office; Schiaparelli recalls the day being disrupted by suffragettes, who Schiaparelli described as ‘mad masculine furies, individually and collectively hideous’ (Watt, 2012, p.11). Their marriage was never a happy one. De Kerlor was a womaniser and found it hard to hold down a job, resulting in the couple living off Schiaparelli’s dowry for the first few months. They moved to New York for better opportunity but the couple continued to live a peripatetic life. Schiaparelli worked various jobs to make ends meet.
In 1920 Schiaparelli gave birth to her daughter Countess Maria Luisa Yvonne Radha de Wendt de Kerlor, a.k.a ‘Gogo’. Soon after the birth of her daughter, her husband abandoned her and the baby.
Elsa Schiaparelli and her daughter Gogo Extracted from ‘Elsa Schiaparelli’s Private Album’ (Berenson, 2014, p.39)
Step into Fashion
In 1922, Schiaparelli officially divorced from her husband and, with the help of Gabrielle Picabia, whom she met enroute to New York, moved to Paris with her daughter. Schiaparelli lived with Picabia in Paris and started to work with her, designing and making clothes. Picabia owned a fashion boutique and was influential in helping Schiaparelli develop her career in fashion.
Schiaparelli visited the haute couture house, Maison Paul Poiret, where she met the man himself. In her autobiography ‘Shocking Life!’ Schiaparelli describes her first meeting with Paul Poiret:
‘It was then that I met Paul Poiret, whom I greatly admired and considered the greatest artist of all time. One day I accompanied a rich American friend to the small house bursting with colour which Paul Poiret had in the Rue St Honore. It was my first visit to a maison de couture. I gazed around moonstruck. Silently I tried things on and became so enthusiastic that I forgot where I was, and walked in front of the mirrors not too displeased with myself. I put on a coat of large, loose cut…it was magnificent.
“Why don’t you buy it madamoiselle? It might have been made for you”
The great Poiret himself was looking at me. I felt the impact of our personalities.
“I cannot buy it,” I said. “It is certainly too expensive, and when could I wear it?”
“Don’t worry about money,” said Poiret, “and you could wear anything anywhere.”’ (Baudot, 1997, p.6)
Paul Poiret and Schiaparelli quickly became friends and she began modelling his clothes. She started selling her fashion illustrations to design houses, and with Poiret’s support, she started her own business designing clothes in 1926.
She released her first collection ‘Display no.1’ in January 1927. The collection featured her renowned sweaters adorned with surrealist trompe l’oeil images. Vogue Paris featured three looks from the collection in its February issue. The sweaters were Bauhaus-inspired and unconventional from the striped motif popular at the time.
Schiaparelli wearing one her sweaters Extracted from ‘Elsa Schiaparelli’s Private Album’ (Berenson, 2014, p.48)
Illustration of ‘Display no.1’ Extracted from ‘Vogue on Elsa Schiaparelli’ (Watt, 2012, p.26)
Success & Later Life
Between 1927-30 Schiaparelli and her arch rival Chanel dominated the fashion world. Both specialised in knitwear and ‘Pour le Sport’ daywear, for the modern woman that was, as described by Vogue, ‘slim, streamlined and boyish’. Schiaparelli looked to Surrealism for inspiration and collaborated with her artist friends to create the bold, unique clothing that set herself apart from her competitors.
Extracted from ‘Elsa Schiaparelli’ (Baudot, 1997)
In 1934 Schiaparelli became the first fashion designer and businesswoman to appear on the cover of Time magazine. In 1941 she moved back to New York, only to return back to Paris after the war. However, Dior’s New Look was all the rage in fashion, leaving no room in the market for Schiaparelli avant-garde fashions.
Schiaparelli closed shop in 1954 and later died in 1973. Her fashion house in Place Vendôme remained closed until the brand relaunch in 2012.
SCHIAPARELLI’S Influence on Fashion Today
Today Schiaparelli is credited as the first designer to create the bridge between fashion and art. Before Schiaparelli, fashion was determined by creating distinction between class and status. When Coco Chanel came on the scene she made her mark by creating fashionable clothes fit for the modern working woman. Schiaparelli adapted Chanel’s theme of comfortability, but added an almost shocking, creative and dramatic flair. In our modern world fashion is a respected art form, and that is because Schiaparelli was the first to see the human body as a canvas that could be decorated and transformed into art.
Schiaparelli collaborated with Surrealist artist Salvador Dalí on a number of unconventional pieces, most notably the ‘Shoe Hat’, which was a hat, designed to look like a high-heeled shoe. It was made by Schiaparelli and designed by Dalí; then modelled by Dalí’s wife in Schiaparelli’s 1937 fall collection. Their collaboration also produced the ‘Lobster Dress’ which was a white silk gown adorned with a lobster painted by Dali. It was inspired by Dali’s renowned ‘Lobster Telephone’ sculpture.
Shoe Hat Elsa Schiaparelli and Salvador Dalí, 1937 Courtesy of Palais Galliera
Lobster Dress Elsa Schiaparelli and Salvador Dalí, 1937 Courtesy of Philadelphia Museum of Art
Contrary to her established eccentric image, she also enjoyed using traditional fabrics; particularly Scottish tweeds, due to her Scottish heritage. Schiaparelli regularly travelled to Scotland and became close friends with Mrs Farquharson of Clan Farquharson; who was editor of both Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar. Schiaparelli’s likeable personality made her a popular figure in Braemar.
In honour of Schiaparelli, Mrs Farquharson, painted the walls of Braemar Castle in Schiaparelli’s signature ‘shocking pink’. Due to demand to see the rooms, the Farquharsons opened Braemar Castle to the public.
In terms of creativity and idiosyncrasy, the best modern comparison to Schiaparelli is probably the late Alexander McQueen, whom had named Schiaparelli as one of his inspirations. Given McQueen’s beloved Scottish heritage, it is safe to assume Schiaparelli’s popularity in Scotland fuelled his admiration of her.
Model wears antlers and veil at Alexander McQueen’s first New York fashion show (Catherine McGann, 1996) Courtesy of Getty Images
Following Schiaparelli’s lead, McQueen’s designs are known for being avant garde, architectural and having strong artistic meaning. Like Schiaparelli did during her time, McQueen always brought a shock factor with his designs. For example his controversial 1995 collection, ‘Highland Rape’, which critics claimed to be misogynistic; but was actually inspired by the “ethnic cleansing” in the Scottish Highlands during the 18th and 19th centuries.
Alexander McQueen collaborated with artist Damien Hirst in 2013 to create a 30 piece scarf collection to celebrate the 10th anniversary of McQueen’s signature skull scarves. Inspired by Damien Hirst’s Entomology series, the scarves were decorated in various insects; the juxtaposition of ‘ugly’ creatures and fine clothing being reminiscent of Schiaparelli x Dali’s ‘Lobster’ dress.
The idea of collaboration between creatives was very forward thinking for Schiaparelli’s time. While Schiaparelli introduced the idea of merging art and fashion through her wacky designs, her partnership with Salvador Dali, and other artists later on, made the link between the two industries official.
Collaborations between brands and artists is something we see all the time today. Collaborations with brands has almost become an essential marketing tool to ensure a brand’s relevancy. The fact that Schiaparelli and Salvador were able to think of doing something that has become so relevant and almost mandatory in fashion today, proves just how much of an innovative and creative thinker she was.
The 1920s was a time of rapid social and economical change between the wars. Artists used their mediums as a way to express their views on the change society needed.
Josephine Baker was one of these influential figures.
Josephine as a baby (ullstein bild, 1908) credit: gettyimages
Josephine Baker was born, Freda Josephine McDonald, on June 3rd 1906, in St. Louis, Missouri.
Baker grew up in an impoverished family. Her mother, Carrie McDonald, was a washerwoman and her father, Eddie Carson, was a vaudeville drummer. He abandoned Baker and her mother, shortly after her birth.
To support her family, Baker began working as a maid at age eight and by age fourteen, she had left home and separated from the first of five husbands.
Taking influence from her mother, who had given up her dreams of becoming a music-hall dancer, Baker learned to dance. She performed in streets and clubs, and by 1919 she was touring the states with the Jones Family Band and the Dixie Steppers; performing comedic skits.
In 1921, she adopted the name Baker when she married Willie Baker; she continued to use his name even though they later divorced.
In 1923, Baker landed a role in the musical ‘Shuffle Along’, Broadway’s first Black musical. The comedic touch that she brought to the role made her stand out and steal the show.
Looking for more opportunity, Baker moved to New York City and was soon performing in ‘Chocolate Dandies’ in the floor show of the Plantation Club, where she quickly became a crowd favorite.
Finding Stardom in France
Josephine Baker in Hamburg (Emil Bieber/Klaus Niermann, 1925) credit: gettyimages
In 1925, at nineteen years old, Baker moved to France with the black American vaudeville troupe ‘La Revue Nègre’.
In her autobiography, (Baker and Bouillon, 1977) Baker describes the outfit she wore, when arriving in Paris, as awkward, gaudy, and out of place. Josephine visited Paul Poiret, who replaced the homemade Harlem outfit with a silver satin gown.
For many years, Poiret, (aka, the father of the 1920s flapper movement) remained one of Baker’s primary dress designers along with Vionnet and Schiaparelli.
Josephine Baker in costume for her famous ‘banana dance’. (Walery, circa 1926) credit: gettyimages
In France, Baker was an immediate success with her ‘Danse Sauvage’, which she performed in only a skirt of feathers.
Josephine Baker Performing ‘Danse Sauvage’ 1925
A year later, at the Folies Bergère music hall, Baker danced ‘La Folie du Jour’ in the renowned banana skirt. The dance was uninhibited and controversial, turning her into a star overnight.
Josephine Baker performing ‘La Folie du Jour’ in the banana skirt 1926
Baker’s performances created a fantasy for her western audience.
She played to the preconceived, western stereotypes of black women, and used it to her advantage.
She performed primitive, African influenced dances, exaggerated by the exotic and provocative costumes she wore.
Josephine Baker performs beneath a caricature of herself (Hulton Archive, 1929) credit: gettyimages
Josephine Baker poses in one of her many elaborate costumes. (Hulton Archive, circa 1930) credit: gettyimages Josephine Baker getting ready in her dressing room. (Bettmann, 1928) credit: gettyimages
As her success grew, Baker transformed her theatrical performances into social and political statements.
Josephine Baker in a tuxedo (Popperfoto, circa 1929) credit: gettyimages
Baker manipulated the controversial images that were predetermined for her, in both her performances and her everyday life.
As many of Baker’s early followers belonged to the Parisian demimonde, she explored using transgender imagery in her work. This appealed to the young, tuxedo-clad women who admired her.
While in public, Baker enjoyed playing her stage characters of the sexualized savage, the male-female, and the saint-like Madonna.
Baker, playing the clarinet at the Caf’ Conc festival at Stade Buffalo Velodrome (Roger Viollet, 1926) credit: gettyimages Josephine’s smile (General Photographic Agency, 1928) credit: gettyimages
Through the 1920s, Josephine Baker became one of Europe’s most popular and highest-paid performers. She was admired by figures such as Pablo Picasso, Ernest Hemingway and E. E. Cummings.
Josephine Baker posing in a gown (Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone, 1928) credit: gettyimages
View of the marquee for the Ziegfeld Follies, Winter Garden Theatre, New York City. (Hulton Archive, 1936) credit: gettyimages
In 1936, on the back of her success in Paris, Baker returned to the US. She performed in the ‘Ziegfeld Follies’.
Baker had hoped to establish herself as a performer in America, but was regrettably met with hostility and racism.
She soon returned Paris, acquired a French citizenship and lived there for the rest of her life.
Service in the Military
During World War II, Baker was a special agent and French Air Force sub lieutenant.
Publicity portrait of Josephine Baker in a military uniform (John D. Kisch/Separate Cinema Archive, 1944) credit: gettyimages
Josephine Baker arriving at the Savoy Hotel in London (Keystone/Hulton Archive, 1945) credit: gettyimages
Baker was awarded both the Croix de Guerre and the Legion of Honour with the rosette of the Resistance, two of France’s highest military honors.
Like a number of African political leaders, her military uniform became a symbol of her status the leader of a humanitarian social and political cause.
Josephine Baker Receives The Legion Of Honor. (Photo by Georges Menager/Paris Match, 1961) credit: gettyimages
Civil Rights Movement
Soon after the war, Baker toured the United States again, and this time she won respect and praise from African-Americans for her support of the Civil Rights Movement.
Josephine Baker, in a gown designed by Christian Dior, while onstage at the Strand theater during her US tour. (Alfred Eisenstaedt/The LIFE Picture Collection, 1951) credit: gettyimages
In 1951, the NAACP named her ‘Most Outstanding Woman of the Year’ for her efforts.
She gave a benefit concert at Carnegie Hall for the NAACP, the SNCC, and CORE in 1963 and was the only woman to speak at ‘the March on Washington’.
The NAACP named May 20th “Josephine Baker Day.”
Josephine Baker speaks on steps of the Lincoln Memorial during March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. (Francis Miller/The LIFE Picture Collection, 1963) credit: gettyimages
“You know I have always taken the rocky path, as I get older, and as I knew I had the power and the strength, I took that rocky path, and I tried to smooth it out a little.
I wanted to make it easier for you. I want you to have a chance at what I had, but I do not want you to have to run away to get it.”
-Josephine Baker, April 28th 1963
The ‘Rainbow Children’
In the 1950s she adopted twelve children of different nationalities and ethnicities. They were named the ‘Rainbow Children’ and lived in the Château des Milandes in southwestern France.
Josephine Baker with her husband and adopted children (Hulton-Deutsch Collection, 1959) Credit: gettyimages
Josephine Baker and her adopted children on holiday in France (REPORTERS ASSOCIES/Gamma-Rapho, 1965) Credit: gettyimages
Josephine Baker and children in Roquebrune, France (REPORTERS ASSOCIES/Gamma-Rapho, 1969) Credit: gettyimages
She invited people to see these children, to demonstrate that integration of races is harmless. The children further enhanced her image as the saint-like Madonna.
Although Baker’s maternal image juxtaposed with her earlier risqué image, the picture of ‘the savage dancer and the ‘Black Venus’ worked to secure publicity for her humanitarian work.
Return to the Stage
Josephine Baker in the 70s (Michael Ochs Archives, circa 1970) credit: gettyimages
Baker during the Rothschild gala in Monaco city. (Daniel SIMON/Gamma-Rapho, 1973) credit: gettyimages
In 1973, Josephine Baker made her comeback to the stage. The 50th anniversary of her arrival in Paris was marked in 1975 with a huge gala in Monaco to celebrate.
Unfortunately, four days later, on April 12 1975, Baker died of a cerebral hemorrhage.
On the day of her funeral, more than 20,000 people lined the streets to witness a 21-gun salute, making Baker the first American woman to be buried in France with military honors.
The Lily Elsie 