What was singer Eartha Kitt known for, besides the definitive rendition of Santa Baby? Acting and activism.

There's her growling purr, a half-dozen songs on the 1950s pop charts, roles on stage and screen—famously as Catwoman to TV's Batman—and as a voice actor in later years. Her collaborator Orson Welles called her "The most exciting woman in the world." Kitt won a Tony and 3 Emmy awards. She died Christmas day, 2008.

In 1950s London, Tin Pan Alley and pop-scene photographer Harry Hammond took a series of black-and-white photos of Kitt. The #VictoriaAndAlbert #Museum now houses the negatives.

Eartha Kitt was also a peace and LGBT+ activist. During the 1960s Vietnam war, she berated her White-House luncheon hosts, saying: "You send the best of this country off to be shot and maimed. No wonder kids rebel and take pot." The fallout meant an unflattering CIA dossier and a career shift to Europe and Asia.

#art #design #photography #performance #EarthaKitt #BlackAndWhitePhotography