Self-taught artist Lady Shalimar, born Frances Montague in 1906, adopted the name in the middle of her life, inspired by a brand of fancy perfume. The remainder of Shalimar’s life would similarly be dominated by an interest in fantasy and adornment, with every element of her being exaggerated, embellished and dripping in sparkles.
For the last 20 years of her life, Montague made autobiographical artworks of her life at New York’s Healing Arts Initiative (HAI), decadent line drawings depicting what she believed to be her many accomplishments, punctuated with swells of watercolor and squiggles of glitter.
Advertisement
In Montague’s drawings, she switches chameleon-like between roles as an opera singer, belly dancer, lion tamer and ballerina. Notes scribbled alongside the drawings designate particular locations, including the Moscow State Circus, the Canton China Peoples Theatre, and New York’s Diamond Horseshoe nightclub. And yet, according to HAI, Montague suffered from agoraphobia, a fear of the outdoors. It’s not clear whether or not she ever visited the specific places noted in her work.
“That’s the funny thing about it, you can’t know what she really did or what she just knew about or made up,” gallerist and collector Kerry Schuss explained in an interview with The Huffington Post. “They’re all self-portraits but it’s kind of impossible that she did all these things.”
Schuss currently has a series of Montague’s work on view at his Lower East Side Gallery. With the drawings, there’s a massive book in which Montague, who passed away in 1996, recounts the fantastical details of her life. “Lady Montague made her debut in a fascinating place!” Montague writes. “The Paris Opera Theatre, her mother’s dressing room.”
Advertisement
Whether she was really born in the Paris Opera house dressing room seems dubious, but as Schuss expressed, “when you spoke with her, she made it sound so real.”
Montague began creating art at the age of 70 years old, when, if the stories are true, she already had lifetimes of experience under her belt. She’d chronicled her adventures in delicate ballpoint pen drawings, in which factual and anatomical accuracy gave way to the magical melding of memory and imagination. Alongside her images, Montague kept notes, recounting supposed performances at theaters and clubs. Occasionally, she’d add snippets of reviews as well, most of which were quite complimentary. “Very exciting!” “A wonderful presentation!” “Star!”
In one drawing, Montague dons a gauzy lime green gown accented with pink roses, an orange cape, and matching green fingerless gloves. The garment slips down to reveal her breasts, though she seems anything but bashful at the wardrobe malfunction. In another, illustrating her role in a “Chinatown Theatre,” Montague wears an elaborate Chinese-style headdress, drizzling gold medallions from its turquoise wings. All images contain Montague’s signature sharp eyebrows, parentheses flipped on their sides, and a large birthmark beneath her lips. She had both in real life, although she drew them on.
Advertisement
In the early 1990s, Montague suffered a debilitating stroke, temporarily shattering her ability to draw. She eventually relearned the skill as part of her rehabilitation process, through her line took on a fragile, shaky quality, like that of a kid first learning to render her own likeness. “I love her line,” Schuss mentions when describing the work. “It’s from another era, when people were taught penmanship.”
Operating in a realm between confession and fantasy, Montague’s works communicate the pure power of self-expression, the radical act of projecting oneself onto the outside world as loudly, colorfully and extravagantly as possible. Combining Cindy Sherman’s passion for role-play with Aloïse Corbaz’s flair for the dramatic, Montague drafts the unlikely story of her fabulous life in deliciously surreal detail.
The dazzling drawings render traditional understandings of verisimilitude irrelevant; it’s abundantly clear that throughout her days Montague was no one but her truest self.
Lady Shalimar’s work is currently on view, by appointment only, at Kerry Schuss Gallery in New York.
Kerry Schuss Gallery
Lady Shalimar Frances Montague, "Peanuts John Ringling and Barnum and Bailey Circus Elephant Dancing Star" 1987 watercolor ballpoint glitter on paper
Kerry Schuss Gallery
Lady Shalimar Frances Montague, "Arabian Belly Dancer," 1987 watercolor ballpoint glitter on paper
Kerry Schuss Gallery
Lady Shalimar Frances Montague, "Su Su San Chinese Actress Canton China Peoples Theatre" 1986 watercolor ballpoint glitter on paper
Advertisement
Kerry Schuss Gallery
Lady Shalimar Frances Montague, "Sketch for Malmo Sweden Two of The Famous Bolshoi Ballet Dancers" 1987 watercolor ballpoint glitter on paper
Kerry Schuss Gallery
Lady Shalimar Frances Montague, "High Kicker Dancer Billy Rose Diamond Horseshoe Nite Club 46th St and 8th Ave NYC" 1986 watercolor ballpoint glitter on paper
Kerry Schuss Gallery
Lady Shalimar Frances Montague, "Arabian Belly Dancer" 1987 watercolor ballpoint glitter on paper
Advertisement
Kerry Schuss Gallery
Lady Shalimar Frances Montague, "Arabian Belly Dancer Tangiers French Morocco Authentic" 1987 watercolor ballpoint glitter on paper
Kerry Schuss Gallery
Lady Shalimar Frances Montague, "Queen of Sheba Sorceress of The Nile" 1986 watercolor ballpoint glitter on paper
Kerry Schuss Gallery
Lady Shalimar Frances Montague, "3 World Tours Royal Imperial Ballet Bolshoi St Petersburg Russia" 1987 watercolor ballpoint glitter on paper
Advertisement
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
It's Another Trump-Biden Showdown — And We Need Your Help
The Future Of Democracy Is At Stake
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
Your Loyalty Means The World To Us
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
The 2024 election is heating up, and women's rights, health care, voting rights, and the very future of democracy are all at stake. Donald Trump will face Joe Biden in the most consequential vote of our time. And HuffPost will be there, covering every twist and turn. America's future hangs in the balance. Would you consider contributing to support our journalism and keep it free for all during this critical season?
HuffPost believes news should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay for it. We rely on readers like you to help fund our work. Any contribution you can make — even as little as $2 — goes directly toward supporting the impactful journalism that we will continue to produce this year. Thank you for being part of our story.
It's official: Donald Trump will face Joe Biden this fall in the presidential election. As we face the most consequential presidential election of our time, HuffPost is committed to bringing you up-to-date, accurate news about the 2024 race. While other outlets have retreated behind paywalls, you can trust our news will stay free.
But we can't do it without your help. Reader funding is one of the key ways we support our newsroom. Would you consider making a donation to help fund our news during this critical time? Your contributions are vital to supporting a free press.
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. Would you consider becoming a regular HuffPost contributor?
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. If circumstances have changed since you last contributed, we hope you'll consider contributing to HuffPost once more.