Artwork Information

Mary Hamilton was an English singer who was famous for her male inpersonations. Portrayals of late 19th-century Parisian life, particularly working-class, cafés, circus, nightclub and brothel scenes were the favoured themes of Toulouse-Lautrec. In spite of being born into a wealthy, aristocratic family, his deformed body, caused by a genetic disorder, may have given him a particular empathy with those on the margins of society. (Impressions of Time and Place, 2002)