Gurney Journey: Audrey Munson, Artists' Muse

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Friday, August 27, 2021

Audrey Munson, Artists' Muse

Audrey Munson was a favorite model of the sculptors of New York's Beaux-Arts era.

At the beginning of her career she went door to door among Manhattan artists' studios, where she secured work posing as goddesses, angels, and mythological figures.

She was soon in great demand, not only for her ideal form, but for her professionalism.

Her figure inspired so many sculptures that she became known as "Miss Manhattan" or the "Venus of Washington Square."

She wrote an article for the popular press acknowledging that she was the anonymous subject of so many nude statues that adorned the city.

“That which is the immodesty of other women has been my virtue — my willingness that the world should gaze upon my figure unadorned.”

But her story has many twists and turns and ends tragically. If you want to dive into the whole tale, follow one of the links below to book, blog post, or podcast.