Bella Donna: 1921

When she stood up, the bear's mouth closed.

One minor criticism on the pose. As an amateur guitarist, I have never seen a chord quite like the one Yvonne is playing. I'm sure someone more knowledgable will correct if I am in error! And yes, I did notice that she was hot!

Mlle. d'Arles also played Queen Anne in Florence Ziegfeld's 1928 production of The Three Musketeers. And I agree with jimmylee42. Yvonne d'Arle was hot.

At last a Diva that wasn't super sized.

If we had a top 10 Shorpy Babe List this young lady would get my vote.

What a magnificently posed photo of a stunning woman holding a beautiful guitar (that I wish I had in my own collection)! Oh, and then there's the bear rug.

A guitar, a pretty girl, and a bearskin rug!

The simple bear necessities, forget about your worries and your strife (unless you're the bear!!)

A student of the important voice instructor and agent William Thorner, the charming Miss d'Arle had already sung with New York's Hammerstein Opera company and toured with the New York Grand Opera. Although born in France, she had been raised in Denver from the age of two, and sang at a roof garden cabaret in New York before signing with Thorner. This photo was probably occasioned by the announcement that she was one of five young American sopranos who had been newly signed for the Metropolitan's 1921-1922 season by the company's General Manager, Giulio Gatti-Casazza, as reported in the New York Times on May 9, 1921. She would remain at the Met until 1926, and later sang leading roles with the St. Louis Civic Opera and other regional companies before moving to Europe. She died in Cannes at age 80 on March 23, 1977.