Miss La La (born April 21, 1858) was an expert aerialist who served as muse to

Edgar Degas Edgar Degas (, ; born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas, ; 19 July 183427 September 1917) was a French Impressionist artist famous for his pastel drawings and oil paintings. Degas also produced bronze sculptures, prints and drawings. Degas is es ...

and was depicted in his 1879 painting ''

Miss La La at the Cirque Fernando ''Miss La La at the Cirque Fernando'' is an oil on canvas painting by the French Impressionist artist Edgar Degas. Painted in 1879 and exhibited at the Fourth Impressionist Exhibition in Paris that same year, it is now in the collection of the ...

''. She was also depicted in a poster for the Folies Bergère. She was the star of Troupe Kaira, a traveling circus act, and performed with the Cirque Fernando, based in Montmartre.

Early life

La La was born either Anna Olga Albertina Brown or Olga Brown in the former German/Prussian territory of

Szczecin Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the German border, it is a major s ...

to a black father and white mother.

Career

La La began touring as a child, approximately around age nine, when her mother placed her in the circus. She used multiple stage names throughout her career including Olga the Negress, Venus of the Tropics, African Princess, and Olga the Mulatto. She was also billed as La Femme Canon, La Mulatresse-Canon, and Black Venus. She played venues such as the Folies Bergère in Paris, the

Royal Aquarium The Royal Aquarium and Winter Garden was a place of amusement in Westminster, London. It opened in 1876, and the building was demolished in 1903. The attraction was located northwest of Westminster Abbey on Tothill Street. The building was design ...

in London, and the Gaiety Theatre in Manchester. With Troupe Kaira, La La performed a flying trapeze and human cannon ball act. One of her signature acts involved being "pulled up to the height of the circus tent by biting down on a rope." The feat was performed at the height of 200 feet. Another signature stunt involved hoisting other people or a 200-pound cannon with her teeth. She was also known for her stunt of being hoisted up to her trapeze by her teeth. At age 21, La La became the subject of Edgar Degas's sketches, leading to his 1879 painting ''

''. La La performed up until the late 1880s.

Marriage and family

La La married African-American circus contortionist Emanuel "Manuel" Woodson in 1888. The couple had three daughters who also became performers, forming a trio called The Three Keziahs.

Legacy

La La is the subject of various articles including ones in '' The Guardian'' and the '' New York Times'' as well as the 2007 scholarly work ''Miss La La's Teeth: Reflections on Degas and Race''. Edgar Degas's portrait of her hangs in the National Gallery in London, England. Since 1937, the portrait has appeared in a variety of exhibitions at a number of venues, including the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles and the

Morgan Library & Museum The Morgan Library & Museum, formerly the Pierpont Morgan Library, is a museum and research library in the Murray Hill neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It is situated at 225 Madison Avenue, between 36th Street to the south and 37th S ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. In 2018, the portrait was loaned to the Weston Park Museum in Sheffield, England for an exhibit about black circus performers in the series ''Circus! Show of Shows''. From Oct. 2018 through February 2019, the portrait appeared in ''Posing Modernity: The Black Muse from Manet to

Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known prima ...

and Beyond'', an exhibit at the Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Art Gallery at Columbia University, curated by Dr.

Denise Murrell Denise Murrell is a curator at large for 19th- and 20th-century art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. She is best known for her 2018 exhibition ''Posing Modernity: The Black Model from Manet and Matisse to Today'', which explored ...

References

{{Reflist 19th-century circus performers Trapeze artists 1858 births Stunt performers Acrobats 20th-century circus performers Year of death missing