Charlotte Davies (c. 1892 – 1970) was an American model and actress known for her posed photographs.
Charlotte Davies | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Other names | Charlotte Mayburne, Charlotte Briggs |
| Occupation(s) | model, actress |
| Known for | "Innocence" painting |
| Spouses | Harold Porter
(m. 1906; ann. 1912)Victor Briggs
(m. 1912; ann. 1914)Lisle Sullivan (m. 1927) |
Early life
editDavies was born in Cleveland, Ohio, around 1892 to George Davies and Hannah Bradburg.[1][2][3] She moved to New York around 1910.
Career
editDavies was a model whose photographs show her in babydoll style outfits, staring alluringly at the camera.[4][5] She modeled for Harrison Fisher.[5] William Hammerstein gave her a job in his theater where her only job was to "pose onstage and be statuesque." Davies held a variety of poses while holding a picture frame around herself.[6] Variety lumped her in with what they called "a host of... women freaks" and her performance was critiqued as "a vulgar display of robust undraped femininity."[7][6]
In 1914 she revealed that she was the nude model for the painting "Innocence" which attracted attention and was rumored to have hung in the White House.[8] She would sometimes headline at Hammerstein's while recreating this portrait.[9] Later in the year she was performing at the Boston Theater in their "dancing carnival" where her act which she performed with Ernst Orr was described as "blue" and said it would "probably be dismissed before the week is over."[10]
Personal life and divorce
editDavies was married to Harold Porter, with whom she had a daughter, Jewell, in 1909.[1][11] Davies reported that Briggs knew she was already married but threatened to shoot her if she did not marry him after she had known him three weeks.[1] Davies was the subject of a national scandal in 1914 when she petitioned Briggs for divorce. During the proceedings he supposedly determined that she was still married to her first husband.[5] Mr. Briggs objected to his wife's modeling sessions and insisted on an annulment, where she would have to forgo alimony because of her previous marriage.[5] The annulment was finalized in October 1914. She married Lisle Sullivan in 1927.[12]
References
edit- ^ a b c "Miss Innocence May Make Up With Hubby". Americus Times-Recorder. Americus, Georgia. March 26, 1914. p. 3. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
- ^ "Husband wants to Divorce "Innocence"". Evansville Courier and Press. March 22, 1914. p. 31. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
- ^ "New York, New York City Marriage Records, 1829-1938". Family Search. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
- ^ Wolf, Rennold (July 1914). "Some New Chronicles of Broadway". The Green Book Magazine. 12: 76. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
- ^ a b c d "Twice Victim of her own "Innocence"". Des Moines Register. November 1, 1914. p. 36. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
- ^ a b "New Acts Next Week". Variety. 34 (8): 14. 24 April 1914. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
- ^ Erdman, Andrew (2004). Blue vaudeville : sex, morals and the mass marketing of amusement, 1895-1915. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co. p. 103. ISBN 0786418273. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
- ^ "Would Quit "Innocence"". The Plain Dealer. Cleveland, OH. March 12, 1914. p. 1. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
- ^ "Wife in Living Pictures". Variety. 34 (7): 6. April 1914. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
- ^ "Boston Going Dance-Wild Over Carnival Now There". Variety. 34 (12): 6. May 22, 1914.
- ^ "United States, Social Security Numerical Identification Files (NUMIDENT), 1936-2007". Family Search. he Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
- ^ "Marriage records: Cuyahoga. Marriage Records". Family Search. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Retrieved 11 November 2024.