Rick Homan
  • Home
  • Books
    • The Con Man's Son
    • Dark Mural
    • Dark Exhibit
    • Dark Picasso
    • Dark Portrait
  • Blog
  • Bio
  • Contact
  • Home
  • Books
    • The Con Man's Son
    • Dark Mural
    • Dark Exhibit
    • Dark Picasso
    • Dark Portrait
  • Blog
  • Bio
  • Contact

Audrey Munson, "The Star Girl"

3/29/2019

1 Comment

 
Picture
"The Star Girl" (aka "Star Maiden") was sculpted by A. Stirling Calder for the Panama Pacific International Exposition, a world's fair held in San Francisco in 1915.  Ninety-five plaster replicas of it decorated one of the pavilions. This bronze copy was made recently for a bank building in San Francisco.

Audrey Munson was Calder's model for "The Star Girl." She also modeled for other figures at the Exposition by Calder and several other artists. She appeared in so many sculptures, paintings, mosaics, coins and other media that she became famous as "The Exposition Girl." She was twenty-four years old.

Before and after the Exposition, Munson modeled for many nude and semi-nude figures that appear on federal and state buildings, museums, cemeteries, memorials---anywhere architects place allegorical figures such as Peace, Abundance, Sorrow, Justice, etc. She was the model for Liberty on the half-dollar coin issued by the US Mint in 1916.

Beginning in 1915, she appeared in four silent films, playing the role of an artist's model. She was the first woman to appear nude in an American film.

Her brilliant career was brought to an end in 1919 by Dr. Walter Wilkins who murdered his wife because, he said, he was in love with Munson. At that time, Munson lived with her mother in a boarding house in Manhattan owned by Wilkins. Although Munson strongly denied any relationship with the doctor, she could get no modeling work after this.

She tried to continue her film career and to capitalize on her fame in various publicity stunts, but ended up supported by her mother. In 1922 she attempted suicide. In 1931 a court ordered her committed to a psychiatric facility where she lived the rest of her life. She died in 1996 at the age of 104.. 

​ Her image can still be seen on buildings and monuments throughout the United States.
1 Comment
Kathleen Byrne
3/30/2019 08:08:06 am

What an amazing tale of a roller-coaster life and a sad death. Thanks RH.

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Dark Stories

    by
    ​Rick Homan

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    Art
    Books On Writing
    Movies
    Movies & TV Index
    Nicole's World
    Noir
    Novels
    Novels Index
    Presidio
    Publishing
    San Francisco
    San Francisco Index
    Writing

    Archives

    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    January 2018
    October 2017
    July 2017
    March 2017
    December 2016
    September 2016
    July 2016
    April 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    July 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014

Proudly powered by Weebly