The heartbreaking story behind America's first supermodel.
All over New York there are magnificent statues located
in front of prominent buildings and places. They greet you when you enter
the New York Public Library and the Brooklyn Museum. They stare down at you
from the Manhattan Municipal Building and entrances in Central Park. Like some kind of gatekeepers,
their gaze silently judges you before you enter their realm. But these sculpted beauties
scattered around the city aren’t just some anonymous Greek effigies. In fact, most of their faces
and bodies are based on a real person; Audrey Munson. Forever engraved in stone they
tell a story of America’s most beloved model, one that started her career right
here in New York City.
Audrey
Munson was born in Rochester, New York in 1881. She was 6 years old when her parents divorced and moved with
her mother to New York City at 15.
As a young girl, Audrey dreamed of being a famous dancer who would
entertain thousands on stage.
Little did she know that by the time she was 25, millions of people
would know her name. One day while
she was shopping with her mother, Audrey was approached by a photographer who
wanted to take pictures of her in his studio. Enchanted by her beauty, this photographer introduced Audrey
to a famous sculptor who needed a model for his upcoming work of art. A few months later she posed for Isidor
Konti, who used her likeness to carve a beautiful statue for the Astor
Hotel known as the “Three Graces”.
Audrey
soon became a model for some of the most famous sculptors, painters, and
muralists in America thanks to her perfectly proportioned body and classical
appearance. Her ability to keep a
pose that was calm yet exerting emotion made her the perfect muse for Beaux Art
sculptures. In New York City she
soon appeared as Civic Fame, a 25-foot statue on top of the Manhattan Municipal
Building and the Spirit of Commerce on the Manhattan Bridge. Her likeness was also featured in
sculptures outside of the New York Public Library and the Brooklyn Museum. Her newfound reputation soon took her
across the country to California where at the age of 24, she was the model for
most of the sculptures at the Jewel City exhibit at the 1915 World's Fair in
San Francisco.
Audrey’s
immodesty in front of strangers also helped her acting career, allowing her to
become the first woman to appear nude in a silent film. Some of these films like Purity and Inspiration became box office hits. While some of her works created public outrage over her
nudity, Audrey dismissed it as sheer jealousy knowing that the image of her
body was sought after throughout the world. Her brief stint in Hollywood further raised her notoriety
and she even got married to a famous film producer. This marriage however, didn’t last long as her husband was
actually previously engaged to another woman. After leaving California, she
traveled throughout the states performing in a variety of shows and
performances that at times were shut down by the police for being too lewd and
provocative. When this style of
work became less popular, Audrey found it hard to find work and she moved back
to New York. To support herself
and her mother, she found a job at a department store where she barely made
enough to make ends meet.
As Audrey’s career began to decline, her life started taking
on a strange course. Not being
able to afford an apartment, she was forced to live in a boarding house in Long
Island. Within the first few weeks that she was there, the married couple that
owned the house started to fight and argue over the new guest. Apparently the owner of the house
wanted to be with Audrey so bad that he killed his wife to make himself
available. While she had already
left the residence and was actually in Canada when this happened, it still made
her a suspect to the police and made for some very sensual newspaper
headlines. This horrific event
quickly tarnished Audrey’s name and she could no longer find suitable work in
the industry. Plagued with
withdrawal and depression, she attempted suicide by swallowing mercury. Luckily the doctors were able to save
her, but after the incident she would never be the same again.
Audrey moved back
to a small town in New York with her mother after her suicide attempt. During her stay, she started acting
erratically and news spread around town that recent barn fires may have been
caused by her. Whether these
rumors were true or not nobody knows, but most of the people knew Audrey’s past
and they were not too keen on having her living in their neighborhood. Audrey’s mother committed her to the
St. Lawrence State Hospital for the Insane when she was left with no
choice. Tucked away from society,
Audrey spent 64 years institutionalized all the way up to her last days. On February 20, 1996 at the tender age
of 104, one of America’s most famous and adored models died alone in a mental
hospital without anybody knowing it.
It is believed her remains were buried next to her father in an unmarked
grave where her legend would never be spoken of again.
It’s been almost
a century since the public has had a chance to be graced by the beauty of
Audrey Munson. Even though she has passed away, her presence can still be felt
and seen all over America, especially in New York City. While her story is unique, it is all too similar to many of
Hollywood’s fallen stars these days. Captivated by fame at an early age, this
little starlet flew too close to the sun and had her wings burned. Fortunately the legacy she left behind
will still be with us for another century or more. So next time you take a stroll down the streets of
Manhattan, take a second to look up at a statue around you. Maybe you’ll be privileged to see
Audrey’s face staring back at you, giving you a small glimpse into the beauty
that gave her the nickname Miss Manhattan.
