Highly uncommon vintage 8x10-inch sepia-tone ballet portrait, boldly signed in black fountain pen in the 1950s. In good condition. Lovely Finnish-born Tania Elg danced with the Royal Ballet in London and the Grand Ballet du Marquis de Cuevas before being recruited by M.G.M., which publicized her as the next Anita Ekberg. Noteworthy in the Lana Turner vehicles The Prodigal (1955) and Diane (1956), she went on to star in Gaby (1956) and, when the studio sought to showcase her talents and knockout physique, Les Girls (1957) alongside Gene Kelly. Other career highlights include Imitation General (1958), The 39 Steps (1959), Watusi (1959), and Mission of Danger (1960). Her movie career went into a steep decline thereafter, with sporadic appearances in films like Hercules of New York (1970), Liebestraum (1991) and The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996). In 1973, she graced the stage in Stephen Sondheim's "A Little Night Music", memorably performing the haunting standard "Send in the Clowns."

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