Mae West

Diane Arbus, artist

1923–1971

Mae West, 1965

Portfolio/Series title: "Mirror, mirror, on the ceiling: How’m I doin’?" published in Esquire

Where object was made: United States

Material/technique: dye transfer print

Dimensions:
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 49.2 x 32.7 cm
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 19 3/8 x 12 7/8 in
Mat Dimensions (Height x Width): 25 x 20 in

Credit line: Gift of Esquire, Inc.

Accession number: 1980.0229

Not on display

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Photographer Diane Arbus captured actress and playwright Mae West in her final years. The aged siren of early filmdom was born to parents involved with prizefighting and vaudeville, and by age five had followed them onto the stage. Later she added playwriting to her credits and performed in her own productions. One of those, demurely titled Sex, in which she played a hooker
with a heart of gold, landed her in jail for obscenity and made her a star. Her sassy wit and sexual innuendo, both as a writer and actress, led the Hollywood studios to establish the Motion Picture Production Code in 1933 to regulate content in films. Despite the Code, several of her scripts were successfully transferred to film after initial stage runs, and by 1936 West was the highest paid woman in the United States. Her fame faded at mid-century, but by the 1960s, with censorship waning, she was ready for a return to film and public life—and for Arbus’s camera. This portrait was published in Esquire magazine in 1967. West herself offered what may be the best summary of her remarkable career when she wrote, “Too much of a good thing can be marvelous.” CCE