Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Josephine Baker left the United States for France and built a life for herself. A visit to Chateau de Milandes in central France https://www.milandes.com/josephine-baker offers glimpses into this talented woman’s extraordinary life. Using her expertise as a performer, she passed messages for the Resistance during WW2 and transmitted message to the Allies from her Chateau. She was called upon by the Allies to aid in clandestine activities and found herself in northern Africa for a period of time during the war. She and her husband took in twelve children, most orphaned by the war.
From the Archives of the New York Times in Paris, Baker offers a glimpse into the philosophy by which she lived:
Not all men have the same color, the same language, or the same manners, but they have the same heart, the same blood, the same need for love. ©National Archives USA-NY Times Paris
A painting of her in military dress can be found at Chateau de Milandes, alongside exhibits of her famous costumes that for a time hid messages for the Resistance. I am not sure of the artist who painted this (it’s in my photo archives). Possibly Carliss Mora?