Helen Wills Moody This 1920-30s elegant female tennis player etching is by Olympic gold medalist (Paris, 1924) tennis player and artist Helen Wills Moody. Moody’s etchings were exhibited and sold in New York City. 1920-30s Etching on Paper 12.5"x14.75" framed, 6"x7" unframedSigned lower left. Good vintage condition. Framed in a restored vintage wood frame in metallic gold using warm white archival matting behind conservation clear glass.Full Artist BioHelen Wills Moody (1905-1998) was an accomplished artist, as well as a world (and Olympic) champion tennis player. She won eight Wimbledon singles titles in the 1920s and '30s -- a record that stood for 52 years -- until broken in 1990 by Martina Navratilova, a player who Helen greatly admired. For many years, Helen also held the record for the greatest number of Grand Slam singles titles -- 19 -- and today ranks second in that distinction only to Margaret Court, who had twenty-four. Helen also amassed a 158-match winning streak, and from 1927 to 1932 did not lose so much as a set in singles. Helen often practiced with the men and as a result, hit the ball harder than anyone she faced in competition, slamming forehand and backhand shots the full length of the court. Helen earned the nickname "Little Miss Poker Face" because her opponents never knew what she was thinking. Helen refused to play in the impractical long skirts that were common at the time, instead opting for a shorter skirt that allowed her more freedom on the court. And her trademark white eyeshade became an enduring tennis accessory. Helen's biographer (Larry Engelmann) opined that "every woman who goes into athletics owes something to her: She revised popular estimations and I would say scientific evaluations of what a woman could do."
