May Belfort (Trial Proof)

1895

23 x 30 3/4 in /
58.4 x 76.2 cm

One of three known proofs
Key stone in olive-green
Commissioned by May Belfort
EXTREMELY RARE

May Belfort, whom Lautrec represented in at least ten works, had gained a reputation for corrupt innocence by appearing onstage dressed as a baby holding a black kitten in her arms, and ‘miaowing or bleating' her popular song, "Daddy Wouldn't Buy Me a Bow-Wow," whose lines had a double meaning which was not lost on the French-speaking audience: ‘I've got a pussycat, I'm very fond of that.' This would have been particularly amusing for the audience, as Belfort was in an openly lesbian affair with the English dancer May Milton.

References: Wittrock P14, Adriani 126, Frey 382