American artist, dancer, and writer.
A talented and beautiful Southern belle,
she met writer F. Scott Fitzgerald
at 17 and married him at 20.
They were considered to be the
epitome of the golden couple
of the jazz age, with their lives
marked by the excesses of
the time period.

Diagnosed in her early twenties
as a schizophrenic, she spent
the rest of her life in and out of
mental institutions where she
eventually died in 1948 as the
result of a fire.
Although talented in her own right,
her works were eclipsed by that
of her husband, which may have
contributed to her mental instability.

She is pictured here not long
after diagnosis, in an evening
gown that was the height of
fashion in 1926.
Created of four layers of ivory
silk gauze, accented with antique
pale ecru lace in an asymmetrical
design. Lace is heavily
embellished with hand sewn pearl
aurora borealis delicas, golden
glass seed beads and sequins.
Three lush tiers of hand sewn
crystal aurora borealis and
golden seed beads comprise the
fringe that is the hallmark of
this jazz age costume.