May Milton

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Artist: Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (French, 1864–1901)
Medium: Color lithograph
Size: Sheet: 79.5 x 61.5 cm (31 5/16 x 24 3/16 in.)
Culture: France, 19th century
Museum: Cleveland Museum of Art
Rights: CC0 — no rights reserved

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.