Liberty the Tattooed Lady: The Great Bartholdi Statue as Depicted in Tattooing

On View: March 15, 2024-January 12, 2025
Opening Reception: Friday, April 5, at 6 PM

The City Reliquary Museum and Daredevil Tattoo are proud to announce Liberty the Tattooed Lady: The Great Bartholdi Statue as Depicted in Tattooing, curated by Michelle Myles. This new exhibition is the first devoted entirely to the history of Statue of Liberty tattoos. Through a stunning collection of vintage tattoo art–including pieces never put on public display before–it shows how the Statue of Liberty has been embraced and embodied by American tattoo artists since the turn of the century.

Since its unveiling in 1886, the Statue of Liberty has served as a symbol of New York City and the nation. Received as a gift from France to commemorate the Declaration of Independence and the abolition of slavery, Lady Liberty has long represented ideals often associated with the idea of America: freedom and liberty. Antique flash, vintage photographs, drawings, and other related objects on display in this exhibit show that Lady Liberty has been a popular subject in tattooing for as long as she’s stood in New York Harbor. 

Guests will have the opportunity to view a stunning collection of vintage tattoo art, including pieces that have never been on public display before. The history of Lady Liberty in tattoo art is told through a stunning collection of antique flash, vintage photographs, drawings, stencils, paintings and other related objects. 

This exhibition brings together artifacts from some of the most legendary tattooers of the early twentieth century, including–but not limited to–Charlie Wagner, Bert Grimm, Owen Jensen, Dainty Dotty, Lou Normand, and Ralph Johnson. 

The Bowery as the Birthplace of Modern Tattooing

This Thursday November 16th Michelle Myles will be presenting a Bowery Tattoo History talk at Grace Church School, 46 Cooper Square. The talk is free but RSVP is required via email at Events4Bowery@gmail.com The talk is hosted by the Bowery Alliance of Neighbors.

Tattoo Artifacts Wanted!

We are always looking to expand our collection of tattoo artifacts. The Daredevil Tattoo Museum of Tattoo History is looking for tattoo flash, tattoo machines, and tattoo ephemera. We are especially focused on collecting anything to do with New York City tattoo history or the Bowery. We also love to hear stories about tattooing’s past. Was your relative a tattooer? Did you or one of your family members get tattooed before tattooing was legalized in NYC before 1997? We’d love to see pictures.

The museum is a registered 501c(3) non profit. Donations are appreciated and may qualify as charitable deductions for federal income tax purposes. Email us with any info DaredevilTattoo@gmail.com or call the shop 212-533-8303

From Mummies to mariners

This Wednesday July 22nd from 4-5pm, Michelle Myles will be presenting an online talk with the South Street Seaport Museum about the history of tattooing through the ages. Tickets are free but spots need to be reserved ahead of time. We’ll be discussing the evolution of tattooing from prehistoric mummies to the voyage of Captain Cook and American tattooing in the early 20th century. The Seaport Museum will showcase some digital artifacts from the Museum’s Alan Govenar and Kaleta Doolin Tattoo Collection.

Conventions This Month - Germany and London

Michelle and Lara will both be attending the Aachen Tattoo Convention in Germany this month September 20, 21, 22. Michelle will be giving seminars on New York City tattoo history Saturday 6:00 and Sunday 4:00. The seminars are free for convention attendees. Michelle and Lara have time available for tattoos, email the shop if you would like to book time. Aachen is the westernmost city in Germany near the border with Belgium and the Netherlands. This will be Michelle and Lara's first visit to the Aachen convention make sure to stop by and say hello if you’re there.

After Aachen Michelle and Lara will be meeting up with Diego to work at the 15th Annual London Tattoo Convention. Daredevil has participated every year of this convention and we look forward to another chance to see friends and be a part of such an amazing show. Email us if you would like to book time with any of our artists for these events.

Daredevil Tattoos on the Red Carpet!

Whoopi Goldberg’s tattoo caused a commotion on the red carpet at the Oscars. Michelle Myles tattooed Whoopi a little over 10 years ago at her loft in Soho. Whoopi sent her driver over to pick up Michelle with her equipment and a massage table. She said she liked dragons, and surprised Michelle when she went for such a good sized dragon tattoo going over her shoulder onto her chest. Michelle never really got a good picture of the tattoo. It's hard to get a good picture of a fresh tattoo, there's always a glare when the tattoo is still shiny and irritated and this was before camera phones made taking pictures so easy.  Back then it was common to shoot a whole roll of film and be lucky to get one decent tattoo shot. 

Michelle stated, “ I still remember when I got my first visible tattoos done on my arms. I got a black panther on my forearm from Mike Perfetto in Brooklyn. This was about 1993 and you didn't see many women with big tattoos back then. Girls didn't get tattoos, let alone get tattoos on their arms. I remember waking up with that panther and all I thought was, "Wow, I'll never be one of those girls who can wear a fancy dress." Not that I was ever a fancy dress kind of girl but I knew I had crossed a line and could never go back. Of course about a week later I got something done on my other arm to compliment the panther. I never would have thought that over 20 years later one of my tattoos would make it to the red carpet, fancy dress and all.”