Cynthia the Mannequin

"Cynthia the Mannequin" by George H. Rothacker
  acrylic on canvas - 24" x 40"

There are many versions in the stories told of soap carver Lester Gaba and the mannequin, Cynthia, he created in the in 1930s.

The story closest to the truth seems to be this one:

Lester Gaba was an up-and-coming “soap carver” from Hannibal Missouri who had been creating miniature sculptures for Proctor & Gamble and the du Ponts. At a cocktail party in Chicago, he met a Miss Mary Lewis, who was the Vice President of Best’s Department Stores. She had read an article he had written about the “lack of style” of the window dressing business and was asked if he would design some mannequins for the Best windows.

He was surprised at the request, because all he had done previously were small carvings from soap, but he accepted the assignment. Miss Lewis said, “…if you can get the quality into life-size figures that you do in soap, they would be wonderful. If you design them, I’ll buy them.”

He set off to New York to create “Gaba Girls, life size, realistic  soap carvings modeled after well-know New York  debutantes and socialites. They soon became the talk of the town.

Lester Gaba and Cynthia

Gaba apparently transitioned to creating plaster of paris  mannequins, which greatly reduced the weight of the average figures from 200 lbs to 25 lbs.One such creation was, “Cynthia, ”named for the model, the wife of a famous industrialist,  who was depicted sitting causally, motionless, with an elbow on her knees and a cigarette in her hand. Life Magazine hired Alfred Eisenstaedt to photograph her, and thus set in motion a set of events that made “Cynthia” the “Madonna” of her day.

 “Cynthia” took on many poses and soon became more famous and sought after than her creator; Cartier and Tiffany sent her jewelry to wear, Lily Dache designed hats for her, and couturiers sent her their latest fashions. She was accompanied Gaba to the Stork Club, was invited to all of the top parties and events including the Duke of Windsor’s wedding, and was given her own box seat at the Metropolitan Opera. Cynthia received a credit card from Sax, had her own successful column and radio show, and appeared in the Hollywood film with Jack Benny, “Artists and Models Abroad.”

Though she shattered into a thousand pieces when she slipped from a chair in a beauty salon, she was rebuilt to continue her reign until 1942 when Lester Gaba was inducted into the army. After the war, styles had changed and Cythia became out of fashion, but Gaba continued to expand his fame and his offerings, becoming a columnist for Women’s Wear Daily, a teacher for LIM college and noted academic on Visual Merchandising.

Cynthia has been missing since 1952.