Artoria Gibbons (also known by her stage name, Mrs. C.W. (Red) Gibbons) was an American

tattooed lady Tattooed ladies were working class women who acquired tattoos and performed in circuses, sideshows, and dime show museums as means for earning a substantial living. At the height of their popularity during the turn of the 20th century, tattooed ...

. She worked at carnival sideshows and at circuses for more than 35 years, including the Ringling, Barnum & Bailey Brothers Circus from 1921 to 1923 and the Hagenbeck–Wallace Circus in 1924. She was born Anna Mae Burlingston in Linwood, Wisconsin in 1893 to Gunder Huseland, a Norwegian immigrant who used the name Frank Burlington, and Amma Mabel Mason. Her father was a farmer. She and her husband, a tattoo artist, were married in Spokane in 1912. She was the first tattooed lady to perform in his local carnival sideshow. Her tattoos, which covered 80% of her body, imitated paintings by

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, better known as Raphael (; or ; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form, ease of composition, and visual a ...

and Michelangelo. She was one of the highest-paid tattooed ladies of her time. Gibbons continued to perform until her death in 1985.

References

American circus performers People from Portage County, Wisconsin 1893 births 1985 deaths American people of Norwegian descent People known for being heavily tattooed {{US-entertainer-stub