Gelatin silver print

This print shows the actress Gertie Millar in a very low-cut, sleeveless dress with a wide sash and a rose attached to the right shoulder. The print is glued to a mount which bears the inscription: 'Rita Martin / 74 Baker Street / W.'. It was probably presented to the museum together with an album containing photographs of Gertie Millar in various stage costumes. One of them shows the actress in the same dress with the inscription 'Country Girl' above it. 'A Country Girl' was shown at the Daly's Theatre in 1914 and was a revival of one of the earliest musical comedies Gertie Millar had starred in.

After assisting her sister Lallie Charles for several years, Rita Martin set up her own studio in 1906, focusing on the portraits of actresses and children. Cecil Beaton and Gail Buckland wrote that 'Rita Martin was the theatrical photographer of the family, and all the musical-comedy stars, and less promising subjects, became beautiful when seen through her lense' (The Magic Image, Weidenfeld & Nicholson, 1975).