Miss May Belfort in the Irish and American Bar, rue Royale (Miss Belfort Belfort au Irish and American Bar, Rue Royale)

Miss May Belfort in the Irish and American Bar, rue Royale (Miss Belfort Belfort au Irish and American Bar, Rue Royale) is a celebrated lithograph created by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec in 1895. This compelling French print captures the famed cabaret performer May Belfort in a moment of candid observation within a popular Parisian establishment during the dynamic period between 1876 to 1900. Toulouse-Lautrec often chronicled the vibrant social scene of the Belle Époque, and this work exemplifies his genius for capturing the intimate atmosphere of Parisian nightlife and its inhabitants.

The medium of lithography was central to the artist’s practice, allowing Toulouse-Lautrec to achieve fluid lines and subtle tonal variations that often echoed the spontaneity of a quick sketch. The composition focuses intently on Belfort, a British import known for her deliberately naïve stage presence and unusual act involving singing simple songs while holding a small kitten. While the artist frequently utilized the entertainment world as his subject matter, Miss May Belfort in the Irish and American Bar, rue Royale avoids the overt theatricality of a performance poster, instead offering a direct, often psychological glimpse into the performer’s presence within the crowded, suggestive confines of the bar.

The depiction of Belfort seated reflects the shifting social landscape of late 19th-century French culture, where the lines between high and low art, and between celebrity and public, were blurring rapidly. Toulouse-Lautrec’s work belongs to an era when artists documented these social environments with unflinching realism. Prints such as this were crucial to the dissemination of the artist's style and his connection to the popular sphere. His keen observational skill transforms what might be a simple genre scene into a definitive record of Parisian entertainment celebrity. This important lithograph is currently held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.