Romy Haag (born 1948) is a Dutch singer, actress, nightclub manager and trans pioneer who became a leading light of Berlin’s drag scene in the 1970s. She has performed around the world, released 17 albums, and appeared in more than 25 movies. As a young teenager she joined a circus in The Hague, first as a children’s clown and then a trapeze artist. Moving to Paris she became a cabaret dancer, and later relocated to West Berlin, where in 1974 she opened her own nightclub, called Chez Romy Haag. It became a magnet for the avant-garde: visitors included Grace Jones, Bryan Ferry, Lou Reed, Freddie Mercury, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, and at least two other subjects of this exhibition: writer Patricia Highsmith and rock star David Bowie, who was romantically involved with Romy Haag during his late 1970s Berlin period. The groundbreaking video for Bowie’s 1979 single ‘Boys Keep Swinging’, in which he appeared in a trio of drag guises, was directly inspired by the acts he had seen in Romy’s nightclub.

Films include: The Hamburg Syndrome (1979), Mascara (1987), The Case of Mr Spalt (1988)

Framed Dimensions: 278mm x 278mm (Unframed: 190mm x 190mm)

Pencil on 100gsm Seawhite drawing paper
Glazed, mounted and framed

Supplied with signed letter of authenticity from Barnaby.

Please note, this is the original artwork by Barnaby. It is unique and not a reproduction.