#maudstevenswagner

[historysforgottenwomen-blog]

Maud Stevens Wagner (1877-1961) She was a circus artist and the first professional American tattoo artist. She was born in Kansas, and dedicated herself to contortionism in different traveling circus shows. It was in one of them where she met Gus Wagner; "The most tattooed man in the United States." In 1907, Maud began a relationship with Gus Wagner and he taught her his trade, so she started in the tattoo technique and entered a world that had been exclusive of men, becoming the first female tattoo artist in the US. The couple left the circus and went to work in fairs where they exhibited their designs and made tattoos with the technique 'spike and poke', which comes from indigenous tribes and consists of using a sharp object that can enter the skin and give a puncture with ink so that it penetrates and thus generate a permanent drawing. Maud and Gus Wagner never used machines to make their designs. Unfortunately, there are no records of Maud's designs, but drawings of her husband survived. In a time when tattoos were not well seen because they were considered wild art or typical of lower classes, Maud broke the prejudices in a field dominated by men. #MaudStevensWagner #MaudStevens #tattoo #tattooart #tattooartist #womeninhistory #feminism #feminist #historyofwomen #artist #forgottenwomen #forgottenwomeninhistory #art

[knitgalivey]

The Original #BadAss ... #maudstevenswagner First Female #Tattoo #Artist (at Harlem)

[cory-waichman]

Mood #maudstevenswagner #internationalwomensday #respect