Charity
by Tsuguharu Foujita
Bal des AAAA
A drawing of a naked lady with a masked man behind her.Japan-born Foujita was famous for his painting of women and cats. Towards the end of his life, he converted to Christianity, adopted Leonard as his first name and devoted himself to painting religious scenes. Clearly from the days before he found religion, this invitation to the 1926 Fourth Ball to benefit the arts tantalizes with an arching blond in red pumps and her harlequin companion. As the AAAA events were spectacularly unbridled affairs, the subtitle for the gala (The Long Hair) provides the ideal reminder that this was an opportunity to let loose and support the arts in one intoxicating fell swoop.