Tickets
English
DonateMembershipTickets

May Belfort

Subject May Belfort Irish
1895
Not on view
May Belfort (born May Egan) was an Irish singer who made a name for herself on the stages of Parisian nightclubs with her nonsensical songs and her ever-present black cat, seen in Lautrec's promotional poster. The artist used four separate lithographic stones and crachis, or spattered ink, to realize the deceptively simple, bold composition.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: May Belfort
  • Artist: Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (French, Albi 1864–1901 Saint-André-du-Bois)
  • Subject: May Belfort (Irish, 1872–1929)
  • Date: 1895
  • Medium: Lithograph
  • Dimensions: 31 1/2 x 24in. (80 x 61cm)
  • Classifications: Prints, Posters
  • Credit Line: Gift of Bessie Potter Vonnoh, 1941
  • Object Number: 41.12.1
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

More Artwork
The Englishman (William Tom Warrener, 1861–1934) at the Moulin Rouge, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec French, Oil on cardboard
The Englishman (William Tom Warrener, 1861–1934) at the Moulin Rouge
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
1892
Ceramic Horn, Glazed pottery, French
Ceramic Horn
French
late 18th or early 19th century
Moulin Rouge: La Goulue, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec French, Lithograph printed in four colors; three sheets of wove paper
Moulin Rouge: La Goulue
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
Printer Affiches Américaines, Charles Lévy
1891
Osage Warrior, Charles Balthazar Julien Févret de Saint-Mémin French, Watercolor and graphite on off-white wove paper, American
Osage Warrior
Charles Balthazar Julien Févret de Saint-Mémin
1805–7
Do Women Have To Be Naked To Get Into the Met. Museum?, Guerrilla Girls American, Offset lithograph
Do Women Have To Be Naked To Get Into the Met. Museum?
Guerrilla Girls
Publisher Guerrilla Girls
1989

Related Content

Timeline of Art History

Entries and chronologies from The Met's art encyclopedia.

Publications

Books, guides, and catalogues published by The Met.

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please contact us using the form below. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.

Send feedback

Content Notice

The Metropolitan Museum of Art presents over 5,000 years of art from around the world, and our online collection reflects ongoing work conducted over the course of our more than 150-year history. You may encounter objects or images that may be inappropriate for some viewers or information that may be outdated.