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She's often called America's First Supermodel, back before the term meant someone who modeled dresses. Very few people would recognize her name today, but Audrey Munson was the inspiration for dozens of sculptures.
She was born in Rochester, NY in 1891 and moved to New York at age seventeen to try her hand at acting. in 1909, she got a bit part in a play, but her career got a boost when Felix Benedict Herzog spotted her on Fifth Avenue and ask her to pose for him. Herzog introduced her to others in the art world and she began to pose for various New York City artists, the best know of which today is Charles Dana Gibson.* She had no objection to posing nude, which created further opportunities.
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| The Spirit of Life Saratoga Springs, NY |
Her success led to film. In 1915, she appeared in the film Inspiration, notable for her being perhaps the first actress to perform nude in a non-pornographic film. The censors didn't like it, but didn't like the idea of having to censor classical art, so they allowed it -- as long as she didn't move.**
She made three other movies, but her career suddenly cratered. In 1919, a Dr. Walter Wilkens, a stalker who insisted she was in love with him, murdered his wife so they could marry. Munson insisted otherwise, but since she left town to avoid questioning, her reputation went down the drain. Wilkens was convicted and hung himself in prison waiting to get the electric chair.
Munson's career as a model ended with the scandal. She came back with a series of (possibly ghostwritten) articles about her life and participated in various publicity stunts which didn't work out. In 1922, she attempted suicide. Her mother, who had been closely connected to her career, had her committed to a mental asylum in 1931, where she was treated for depression and schizophrenia. She remained there for over 64 years, dying at age 104, forgotten by everyone.
But her sculptures live on. I've seen The Spirit of Life in Saratoga Springs, not knowing anything about the story behind it.
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*Creator of the Gibson Girl.
**There was a similar restriction on nudes in Mrs. Henderson Presents.
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