Hedwiga Reicher: 1884-1971

Seven years before the ratification of the 19th Amendment on August 26, 1920 giving women in the United States the right to vote, German actress Hedwiga Reicher played the mythological figure of Columbia- considered the female national personification of the United States, on March 3, 1913 during a march on Washington. Reicher lead a suffrage pageant delegation of over 5,000 women who joined her from across the country. Reports at the time said 500,000 onlookers- mostly men- witnessed the event. The Library of Congress describes the pageant as “an allegory in which Columbia summoned Justice, Charity, Liberty, Peace, and Hope to review the new crusade of women.”

Hedwiga Reicher also worked as an actress spanning the silent film era of the early 1920’s to her final role as a nurse (uncredited) in the 1940 Edward G. Robinson film Dr. Erhlich’s Magic Bullet. She also appeared on Broadway from 1909-1916, with her final role playing Cleopatra in the 1916 film Caliban of the Yellow Sands.

Although Edward Curtis was known to have produced a series of blue-toned photographs from his studios at the Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles, including “Hollywood Stills” and his “Aphrodite Series” from 1916-1930, (1.) it’s believed this portrait of Hedwiga Reicher was a separate commissioned character study. To support this theory, another black and white photograph of Reicher by the Curtis studio offered for sale at the same time as this blue-toned portrait was acquired shows the actress swaddled in a black cloak- the print verso stating in graphite: Personal Character Mood….Character Study for (illegible). This blue-toned photograph, which had been a gift to the important Irish poet Ella Young in 1949 by Reicher, has the words Tragic Fantasy penned in by the actress on the print verso- perhaps indicating it was also intended as an alternate “character mood” she role-played in the session with Curtis.  Insight and or further details are welcome.

Hedwiga Reicher Born Hedwig Reicher; was a German actress. Her performances on Broadway were credited with the original spelling of her first name. Reicher was christened Hedwig, but she altered the spelling after she came to the United States because some people called her “Mr. Hedwig”. She was half-sister of actor Frank Reicher, sister of actor and screenwriter Ernst Reicher, and daughter of actor Emanuel Reicher. Another brother, Hans Reicher, was a sculptor, and her sister, Elly, was an actress. – Wikipedia

Ella Young: 1867-1956

Ella Young …was an Irish poet and Celtic mythologist active in the Gaelic and Celtic Revival literary movement of the late 19th and early 20th century. Born in Ireland, Young was an author of poetry and children’s books. She emigrated from Ireland to the United States in 1925 as a temporary visitor and lived in California. For five years she gave speaking tours on Celtic mythology at American universities, and in 1931 she was involved in a publicized immigration controversy when she attempted to become a citizen. – Wikipedia

1. Overview: BLUE-TONE GELATIN SILVER PRINTS: Photographic Processes: Christopher Cardozo Fine Art online site.