She was the American Venus, Miss Manhattan. She was the inspiration to the tops artists, sculptors and architechs of her day, then went on to becoming one of the worlds first movie stars, and the first to do a tasteful nude scene--in 1915!!
As if that wasn't enough, she rubbed elbows with the elite, found herself at the center of a love & murder scandal, and lived to 104.
After her "discovery" on a street corner by a prominent photographer of her day, she went on to inspire sculptures that can be found literally all over New York City, from the Strauss Memorial at 106 street & West End Ave., to the Brooklyn Bridge, on the dimes & half dollars of her day, and on fountains and buildings all across the country.
Check out her biography http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audrey_Munson, and this terrific little video about how she graces our fair city:
And this excellent little blog:
THE BLUE LANTERN: Audrey Munson: Her Brilliant Career
UPDATE! A new book has recently been written about our hero, Audrey, called "The Curse of Beauty" by James Bone from Regan Arts. Here's a link to a great hyperallergic article about Audrey and the book, with some astounding pix!
http://hyperallergic.com/292956/the-life-of-one-of-the-20th-centurys-most-influential-nude-models/
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