Between 1919 and 1921, Margrethe Mather took a series of extraordinary photographs of her friend and lover, the actress Florence Deshon, a woman of extraordinary beauty and intelligence. Signature events in the history of portrait photography, these images played a central role in Deshon’s tempestuous relationship with the poet, editor, and socialist Max Eastman (who, too, was the subject of several iconic Mather photographs). Florence Deshon, who likely killed herself in 1922, is virtually forgotten today. This talk pays tribute to her and to Mather’s photographs, several of which are in the collections of the Lilly Library.
Christoph Irmscher, Provost Professor of English and Director of the Wells Scholars Program, has been working on a biography of Max Eastman, tentatively titled When Love Was Red, which makes extensive use of the Eastman papers at the Lilly Library. His most recent book is Louis Agassiz: Creator of American Science (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013).
When: February 5, 4pm
Where: FA 102
Free and Open to the Public