HOWARD BAER
"Midnight Mona Lisa," a portrait of the performer Gladys Bentley. Lithograph, 265x345 mm; 10x13¾ inches, on paper with Rives watermark, signed, dated and titled "Midnight Mona Lisa" by the artist Howard Baer in pencil; toned, taped into early mat on verso. No place, 1933. 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. The artist was Howard Baer (1907-1986), better known as an illustrator. The present example is not numbered; another example held by the Ackland Art Museum is titled "Gladys" and is numbered "8/25." None others traced at auction since 1997.