Hedy Lamarr
24 x 36 inches - Acrylic on Canvas
Her beauty won't be her enduring legacy, changing the world and being recognised for it, will be
Actress, Hedy Lamarr pioneered the technology that today forms the basis of WiFi, GPS, and Bluetooth systems.
She, alongside her friend George Antheil, designed a communication system to guide torpedoes to their targets during war through use of ‘frequency hopping’ radio-waves.
Ironically, the two earned nothing from their 1942 patent and everyone thought Hedy was too dazzlingly beautiful to have come up with any idea.
To help with the war, she was told instead to utilise her 'real talents', - sell kisses for war bonds.
Hedy frequently cursed her looks for holding her back, but also despaired as she aged, trying to recapture youth cosmetically.
She eventually became a recluse, ultimately mocked and ridiculed by those who once worshipped her beauty.
Communication System Patent, 1942
as inscribed on the painting
