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Email PageCENTURY GIRL: 100 Years in the Life of Doris Eaton Travis, Last Living Star of the Ziegfeld Follies
February 1, 2007- February 17, 2007
Reception: February 14, 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Lauren Redniss
Vanina Holasek Gallery
502 W 27th StVANINA HOLASEK GALLERY is delighted to present an exhibition of original collages describing the life of Doris Eaton Travis, the last living star of the Ziegfeld Follies.
The Ziegfeld Follies, Florenz Ziegfeld’s stage spectacular, promised the best performers, lavish sets, and the most ravishing girls. Doris Eaton Travis was one of these prized beauties and at 14, was chosen as the youngest chorus girl in the Follies.
Today, at the age of 102, Doris is the last living Ziegfeld girl. Over the past century, she has performed for presidents and princesses, entertained Gershwin, Lindbergh, and Astaire, starred in silent and talking pictures, bantered with Babe Ruth, offended Henry Ford, outlived six siblings, written a newspaper column, hosted a television show, earned a Phi Beta Kappa degree in history, raised turkeys, and raced horses. Century Girl is a visual tour of this extraordinary woman’s journey through the ages.
Lauren Redniss, contributor to the Op-Ed page of the New York Times, tells Doris Eaton Travis’ story in the same way she first experienced it, drawing from the incredible library of memorabilia that Doris keeps at her Oklahoma ranch. Doris has saved everything—100 years worth of American history, women’s history, and entertainment history—keeping her memories of people (she’s survived 6 siblings and two husbands), places, and events close to her. Having lived through two World Wars, the Prohibition, and the women’s rights movement, Doris’ chosen metaphor for life and longevity is the chambered nautilus shell, with each chamber representing a chapter in life, experienced to the fullest and then sealed off for eternity. At 102, Doris continues to inspire by example: from performing for celebrities such as Gershwin and Fred Astaire in the early part of the century, to leaving the stage for a fledging Arthur Murray dance studio in Chicago when the stock market crash shut down Broadway, and later graduating Phi Beta Kappa from college at age 88, Doris embodies the principle of the chambered nautilus shell to the fullest.
Lauren Redniss graduated Magna Cum Laude from Brown University and received her MFA from the School of Visual Arts. She is a frequent contributor to the Op-Ed page of the New York Times, which nominated her work for the Pulitzer Prize. She teaches at the Parsons School of
Books and DVDs related to artists in this show
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