The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 26, 2024

May Milton

May Milton

1895
(French, 1864–1901)
Sheet: 79.5 x 61.5 cm (31 5/16 x 24 3/16 in.)
Catalogue raisonné: Wittrock Vol.II.P17,b ; Delteil 356
Location: not on view

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.
  • Monet to Dalí: Modern Masters from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Seoul Art Center, South Korea (December 22, 2006-March 28, 2007); Seoul Olympic Museum of Art, South Korea (April 7-May 20, 2007).
    Inventive Impressions: 18th- and 19-Century French Prints. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 26-October 28, 2001).
    Generous Donors: A Tribute to The Print Club of Cleveland. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 2-August 4, 1991).
    Art Nouveau in France. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 12-November 27, 1988).
    Printing in Color. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 10-November 17, 1985).
    The Print Club of Cleveland, 1919 - 1969: Fifty Years in Review. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (January 14-March 31, 1970).
  • {{cite web|title=May Milton|url=false|author=Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec|year=1895|access-date=26 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1952.10