May Milton was a British cabaret dancer and performer active in late 19thâÂÂcentury Paris, France, a high-profile figure (albeit for a brief period) in the Belle ÃÂpoque entertainment world, and a muse of the painter Henri de ToulouseâÂÂLautrec. She is best known today through his striking lithograph poster May Milton (1895), originally intended to advertise her planned tour of the United States.
Details of her birth and death remain unknown. She rose to prominence for her season-long engagement at the Moulin Rouge cabaret in Paris, having arrived in 1895 with an English dance troupe. Critics such as Maurice Joyant described her face as âÂÂdeathly pale, almost clownlike ⦠reminiscent of that of a bulldogâÂÂ, but praised her âÂÂagilityâ and âÂÂpurely English choreographic skillâ which "were at that time revolutionary".
Milton's was mentored by fellow performer Jane Avril, with whom she shared a brief romantic relationship. Avril played a significant role in MiltonâÂÂs career while in Paris. She also had a romantic relationship with May Belfort, another dancer depicted by Toulouse-Lautrec.
In 1895 Jane Avril asked Toulouse-Lautrec to design a poster for May Milton before the latter embarked on an American tour, which never materialized. This poster was designed to be displayed alongside another he made for Mayâ¯Belfort, possibly as a complementary portrait. It also appears hung on the wall in the background of Pablo Picasso's 1901 painting The Blue Room.
Mayâ¯Milton appeared in several of Henriâ¯de ToulouseâÂÂLautrec's other works, notably At the Moulin Rouge, in the right foreground, and in an oil and pastel portrait, both now in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago.