GLADYS BENTLEY (1907-1960)
Signed portrait of the cross-dressing Harlem Renaissance performer Gladys Bentley. Photograph, 250x200 mm; 10x8 inches, signed by the photographer Canell in the negative; minimal wear; signed and inscribed "To a swell fellow and a friend, Gladys Bentley." New York, circa late 1920s. Gladys Bentley (1907-1960) was raised in Philadelphia and was gender non-conforming from an early age, preferring to wear her brothers' clothing. As a Black cross-dressing and openly lesbian blues singer and pianist, she was a memorable character of the Harlem Renaissance, often performing in top hat and tails backed by a chorus line of drag queens at the Clam House, Ubangi Club, and Cotton Club.