Miss May Belfort with Long Hair

Miss May Belfort with Long Hair is a distinctive color lithograph created by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec French, 1864-1901, in 1895. The work documents one of the many performers who animated the burgeoning cabaret scene in 1890s France. The subject is May Belfort (1872-1929), an Irish singer notorious for her adoption of a deliberately childlike stage persona and her extremely long, trailing black hair. Belfort was a staple performer at popular Parisian venues, including the Decadents and the Moulin Rouge, and Toulouse-Lautrec captured her essence frequently throughout the mid-1890s.

The artist utilized the color lithograph technique on cream wove paper to create this vivid print, a medium which allowed him to produce and distribute his images widely. Known for his keen observation and graphic immediacy, Lautrec captures Belfort mid-song, employing the stylized contours and bold linearity that define his aesthetic approach, heavily influenced by Japanese woodblock prints. This technique proved ideal for conveying the energy and atmosphere of the fin-de-siècle Parisian nightlife he so often chronicled.

As a significant example of Toulouse-Lautrec’s work in the realm of graphic prints, this piece confirms his role in elevating commercial advertising and poster art into high art. The color choices are minimal yet effective, focusing the viewer's attention on Belfort’s striking features and theatrical presence. This impression of Miss May Belfort with Long Hair is classified as a print and is held in the permanent collection of the Art Institute of Chicago, providing essential context for the cultural history of France at the turn of the century.