BY TRAV S.D. | Today, June 5,  is the birthday of Paul Swan (1883-1972). How fitting that it falls during PRIDE month! Swan was one of the most remarkable artists of the 20th century: painter, sculptor, model, dancer, choreographer, poet, movie actor, set and costume designer, and—for a few weeks in 1914–vaudevillian.

Furthermore, he functioned in all these areas at the very highest levels, enjoying national and even international reputations in some of these fields.

Born on an Illinois farm, Swan was eccentric from childhood, alienating himself from his family and all of his neighbors by covering his hands and face with burlap sacks as he plowed, so that he wouldn’t get a telltale farmer’s sunburn. Inheriting artistic talent from his mother and paternal grandfather, he drew pictures every chance he got. When he became a teenager, he made several ill-fated attempts to move to several Midwestern cities, taking some art classes, and working at a succession of jobs (window dresser in a department store was one of them).

Finally, in 1906, he was able to move to New York, where he got a job at Dilineator magazine drawing ladies’ hats. In 1908, one of his illustrations made the cover of Putnams magazine, and, from then on, things started to slowly change for him.

The turning point in his life came when he painted a life-sized portrait of the actress Alla Nazimova at his own expense on spec, and sent it to her, resulting in a commission for several more, and the chance to live with her for several months.

From that moment on, he was a man of the world. A tour of the great capitols of the Renaissance and antiquity fed his art immeasurably, and inspired what he was probably best known for in his lifetime, a series of self-created dances based on classical Greek and Egyptian poses, in costumes he designed himself. (Although untrained as a dancer, at this stage he sought out Isadora Duncan and others to study with). When he came back to the states, he toured the country with these unique dances, to great acclaim.

And this is how he happened to be booked by Loney Haskell to play Hammerstein’s Victoria for several weeks in 1914, billed as “The Most Beautiful Man in the World.”

Audiences were confused by him at first, and were apt to laugh at his performances (this type of reaction was to dog him from some quarters all his life). But critics praised him, and, once he began lecturing audiences from before the footlights, they came around, too. Meanwhile, his own visual art was winning prizes and commissions all over the world, and he himself, with his Dorian Gray-like visage, became the muse of many an artist, as well. In addition to the many portraits he sat for, he was to appear in a number of Hollywood movies, including Diana the Huntress (1916), (1916), The Ten Commandments (1923), and Ben Hur (1925).

He continued to be celebrated for his visual art into his old age. As late as 1960, he was featured in Life magazine. Unfortunately, though, he seemed to be in denial about the fact that he had aged, and became something like a local figure of fun—a New York character.

With badly dyed hair and a great deal of makeup, he continued to perform his Greek dances (in full toga and sandal costumes) weekly for small audiences, well into his 80s.

It was at this stage of his life that Andy Warhol made several films of him: Paul Swan, Camp, and Paul Swan I-IV, all made in 1965. Thus, even into his old age he continued to be both an artist and an art object, although the context had shifted incredibly. The idea that he was something of a joke may have hurt his reputation as a serious artist, although he does have his critical admirers today, and his paintings and sculptures are in museums all over the world.

In spring 2019, the Chelsea-based theatre company The Civilians presented Paul Swan is Dead and Gone, a play by Swan’s great-niece Claire Kiechel, starring Tony Torn.

(By the way, most of the information for this post came from the excellent 2006 book The Most Beautiful Man in the World: Paul Swan, from Wilde to Warhol, by Janis and Richard Londraville).

The above article is reprinted from Travalanche: The observations of actor, author, comedian, critic, director, humorist, journalist, m.c., performance artist, playwright, producer, publicist, public speaker, songwriter, and variety booker Trav S.D. (one of our valued contributors). Visit Travalanche at travsd.wordpress.com.

Chelsea Community News is made possible with the help of our awesome advertisers, and the support of our readers. If you like what you see, please consider taking part in our GoFundMe fundraiser (click here). To make a direct donation and/or send feedback about the site, send an email to Scott@chelseacommunitynews.com.