Artoria Gibbons (also known by her stage name, Mrs. C.W. (Red) Gibbons) was an American tattooed lady.[1] She worked at carnival sideshows and at circuses for more than 35 years, including the Ringling, Barnum & Bailey Brothers Circus from 1921 to 1923 and the Hagenbeck–Wallace Circus in 1924.[2][3]
She was born Anna Mae Burlingston in Linwood, Wisconsin in 1893 to Gunder Huseland, a Norwegian immigrant who used the name Frank Burlington, and Amma Mabel Mason. Her father was a farmer. She and her husband, a tattoo artist, were married in Spokane in 1912.[3] She was the first tattooed lady to perform in his local carnival sideshow. Her tattoos, which covered 80% of her body, imitated paintings by Raphael and Michelangelo.[4] She was one of the highest-paid tattooed ladies of her time.[5]
Gibbons continued to perform until her death in 1985.[3]
References edit
- ^ Hartzman, Marc (2006). American sideshow: an encyclopedia of history's most wondrous and curiously strange performers (First ed.). New York. ISBN 1-58542-530-3. OCLC 71843379.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ "Artoria Gibbons". www.tattooarchive.com. Retrieved 2021-03-19.
- ^ a b c Osterud, Amelia Klem (2008). "Gibbons, Artoria (1893-1985), tattooed lady". American National Biography. doi:10.1093/anb/9780198606697.article.2001906. ISBN 978-0-19-860669-7. Retrieved 2021-03-19.
- ^ USA, Tatul (2018-04-19). "Tattooed Lady Artoria - The Living Art Museum". Tatul. Retrieved 2021-03-19.
- ^ Preston, Devon. "Beautiful "Freaks!"—Meet the Tattooed Women of the Circus". Tattoo Ideas, Artists and Models. Retrieved 2021-03-19.
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