4129 - Desmond, Olga

Desmond, Olga Photographer: Otto Skowraneck (1865–1944). Olga Desmond: Sword Dance. (Olga Desmond’s Sword Dance). 1908. Original half-cloth folding portfolio with an introductory text by Max Thielert and 11 vintage gelatin silver prints (each approx. 22 x 14.5 cm). NPG publisher’s logo in the lower left corner. Each mounted on loose boards from the “Neue Photographische Gesellschaft A. G., Steglitz-Berlin” (35.8 x 24.7 cm). Olga Desmond, known as “Prussia’s Nude Venus,” was a Berlin dancer and actress who gained notoriety for her pioneering nude performances. In 1907, she and Karl Vanselow established the “Berlin Beauty Evenings,” in which tableaux vivants inspired by classical antiquity were recreated, often with performers appearing nude or covered only in body paint. In 1909, her performances at Berlin’s Wintergarten were banned by the police, causing a scandal that even reached the Prussian Landtag. Desmond later performed throughout Europe and pursued a career in film and theater. As her style of statuary dance was eclipsed by modern expressive dance in the late 1920s, her career declined; after 1933, she lived in poverty and worked as a cleaning woman in Berlin until her death in 1964. – Some mounts are dusty and show signs of age, with scattered foxing; most prints have some silver mirroring; otherwise, all are in good condition.