The tragedy wasn't that Stanford White died, but that I lived. — Evelyn (image via Library of Congress) The 16-year-old "it girl" took early 20th century chorus lines by storm -- and became forever famous for her dalliance with a red velvet swing. Let's go back: Early 1900s artists and directors fell in love with teenage Evelyn's "Gibson Girl" looks. She modeled for playing cards, magazine covers, John Singer Sargent portraits and more. Before she even turned 18, she danced in "Floradora," the Broadway hit that made her a star. Soon she was seen about town with Stanford White, the womanizing celebrity architect, notorious for his Chelsea pleasure palace. Soon White was bankrolling his teenage lover's entreé into Manhattan society, but there was a dark side to his obsession with Evelyn. Her diaries later revealed that he assaulted her, drugging her to sleep in a "mirrored room" in his Chelsea apartment and photographed her in his now-infamous "red velvet swing." She was terrified.
A Woman to Know: Evelyn Nesbit
A Woman to Know: Evelyn Nesbit
A Woman to Know: Evelyn Nesbit
The tragedy wasn't that Stanford White died, but that I lived. — Evelyn (image via Library of Congress) The 16-year-old "it girl" took early 20th century chorus lines by storm -- and became forever famous for her dalliance with a red velvet swing. Let's go back: Early 1900s artists and directors fell in love with teenage Evelyn's "Gibson Girl" looks. She modeled for playing cards, magazine covers, John Singer Sargent portraits and more. Before she even turned 18, she danced in "Floradora," the Broadway hit that made her a star. Soon she was seen about town with Stanford White, the womanizing celebrity architect, notorious for his Chelsea pleasure palace. Soon White was bankrolling his teenage lover's entreé into Manhattan society, but there was a dark side to his obsession with Evelyn. Her diaries later revealed that he assaulted her, drugging her to sleep in a "mirrored room" in his Chelsea apartment and photographed her in his now-infamous "red velvet swing." She was terrified.