Photograph of Helen O'Shea as Leda from the Ziegfeld production of Leda and the Swan, ca. 1920s. A rare vintage black and white photograph of a Ziegfeld Follies revue dancer, Helen O'Shea, nude save the large white swan. Posed on toe upon a columniatied tiered pedestal, she seductively caresses the swan. On the verso is the following handwritten inscription, "Miss Helen O' Shea presenting her own original & classical dance interpretation of 'Leda & the Swan' taken from the famous Greek myth. Bristol Hotel N.Y." Photographs from the Ziegfeld Follies era are coveted by collectors, and images displaying elaborate yet revealing costumes like this example are among the most desirable and scarce. The Ziegfeld Follies were famous for their beautiful chorus girls who usually wore costumes by famous designers such as Erte, Lady Duff Gordon, or Ali Ben Hagan. Size: 8" W x 10" H (20.3 cm x 25.4 cm)

In a Vanity Fair article entitled, "Another Gentleman Who Prefers Blonds: Pictorial Evidence That Mr. Ziegfeld's Reincarnated 'Follies' Is a Light-Headed Entertainment" (September, 1926, p. 73), Helen O'Shea's head shot appears at the center, and she is described as a "youthful toe-dancer who is diminutive and skillful" who can "dance to perfection". (https://books.google.com/books?id=IXs7AQAAIAAJ&pg=RA2-PA73&lpg=RA2-PA73&dq=helen+o+shea+ziegfeld+follies&source=bl&ots=LbZV4XKvrm&sig=ACfU3U2BvFb2raxCuQIm14kMI0pYnWt8Zg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwig_IWGyYfjAhWOHM0KHZnCCTEQ6AEwDHoECAkQAQ#v=onepage&q=helen%20o%20shea%20ziegfeld%20follies&f=false)

Leda and the Swan was a magical story in Greek mythology. Leda was the daughter of Thestios, the King of Pleuron, and was thought to be one of the most beautiful women in creation. Zeus, observing her beauty from his throne on Mount Olympus for years, decided to engage in relations with Leda when she came of age. On the day Leda was to marry Tyndareus, King of Sparta, Zeus assumed the form of a graceful swan and presented himself to the unsuspecting woman. After impregnating Leda on the day she was to lay with her new husband, she bore two eggs from which her four children were hatched: from Zeus, Helen of Troy and Polydeucus; from Tyndareus, Castor and Clytemnestra.

Provenance: East Coast collection, New York Gallery, New York City, New York, USA, acquired before 2010

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#138933

Minor wear, but overall in excellent condition. Handwritten inscription on the verso reads, "Miss Helen O' Shea presenting her own original & classical dance interpretation of 'Leda & the Swan' taken from the famous Greek myth. Bristol Hotel N.Y."