The Daily News’ Modern Venus – 1920
Emil Otto Hoppé a famous German-born, British artist / photographer was tasked by The Daily News in 1920 to find The American version of the Modern Venus. The winner of the contest would become Hoppé ‘s model.
The contest began August 26 and concluded September 25. In addition to women’s standard measurements of height, weight, chest, waist and hips, Hoppé requested foot, neck, thigh, calf, forearm, biceps and wrist measurements of potential contestants.
Hoppé said that in an hour’s stroll along the streets of New York he saw at least a dozen women who would qualify as beautiful. Hoppé ‘s ideal woman would have a pretty face, nice hair and good carriage.
The Daily News in assisting Hoppé in his search would run photographs of the entrants. In just under four weeks over 1,500 women submitted pictures and measurements.
Below are some of the entries.
The Venus de Milo statue has the following dimensions:
Height 5 foot 4
Chest 34
Waist 31.2
Hips 40.8
Neck 14.8
Length of foot 10.4
Upper arm 13.2
Hoppé said he would be flexible with dimensions, but believed the winner would probably fall between the following:
Height 5 foot 5 – 6
Weight 130 – 140
Chest 34 – 37
Waist 25 – 28
Hips 38 – 41
As the contest was concluding Hoppé had narrowed down his list to ten women and eliminated most women from contention because of bad ankles.
And The Winner Is…
A 24-year-old Buffalo woman Agnes Josephine Keating was the winner (seen in the third panel and above). After arriving in New York in 1918, she became a Fifth Avenue model participating in fashion reviews and what was called a living mannequin.
Keating said, “I never imagined I would win. In fact I had quite given up on the idea.” Modestly, Keating added, “I think perfection is impossible as far as the female figure is concerned.” But Hoppé believed she was as close to perfect than all the other contestants.
Keating’s vitals came in at:
Height 5 foot 7 and a half
Weight 138 pounds
Chest 34 ½ inches
Waist 26 inches
Hips 36 inches
Neck 12 inches
Forearm 9 ½ inches
Thigh 20 inches
Calf 13 ½ inches
Wrist 6 ¼ inches
The runner-up was Mrs. Lurch (not from The Addams Family) who can be seen in the fifth panel.
After announcing that Keating was the contest winner, The Daily News reported that several movie studios made inquiries about offering Keating a contract.
If she did enter motion pictures Keating is not in the database of players at imdb.com. But she did continue getting modeling assignments, including this advertisement for La Camille corsets appearing in Vogue in the May 1, 1921 issue.
However, Keating did eventually break into show business.
A July 11, 1928 article in Variety mentions that Keating appeared in the 1924 Ziegfeld Follies. The article reports Keating had just filed suit for breach of promise against an unnamed, wealthy young man who had backed a musical comedy which had flopped the previous fall. Soon after the jilting, Keating was partying hard and extensively night-clubbing, resulting in her being taken to Bellevue for observation. Her release came months later at the request of her family and the efforts of attorney Edward Moore.
After that escapade, Agnes Keating vanishes from the public eye and periodical archives.
