For over 4 a long time, the id of the enigmatic lady gracing the quilt of Duran Duran’s 1982 album ‘Rio’ remained one of popular culture’s enduring mysteries. This placing picture, created by the late artist Patrick Nagel, has now been definitively linked to a real-life muse. By meticulous analysis by Nagel historian and artwork dealer Monica Moynihan, and with affirmation from Nagel knowledgeable Mark Walker, it has been revealed that the mannequin is Marcie Hunt, a reputation beforehand unknown to Duran Duran followers and the broader public alike.
In a latest Instagram publish, Moynihan shared that the reference picture for the album cowl was sourced from a February 1981 situation of Vogue Paris. Walker, whereas perusing classic trend magazines, stumbled upon an editorial unfold that includes Hunt. Regardless of the mannequin sporting glasses within the journal picture, her distinctive smile and eyes matched these immortalized on the ‘Rio’ cowl. Walker described his realization with palpable pleasure, stating, “I noticed that smile. I noticed these eyes, these eyes that I’d stared at a whole lot of instances by this level in my life, a whole lot if not 1000’s of instances. I’ve been entranced by this magical lady for over 40 years. I knew it was her.”
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Additional corroboration got here from Barry Kahn, Patrick Nagel’s former technical artwork assistant, who confirmed Hunt because the mannequin, praising Walker’s discovery as a “nice catch.”
Marcie Hunt, now a vineyard proprietor in Napa, California, responded with astonishment to this revelation. On her personal Instagram, she expressed her shock and delight, recounting how “Rio” had been part of her life since its launch, even taking part in at her wedding ceremony three a long time in the past. “I’m amazed that after 42 years, I’m additionally ‘Rio’ on the well-known album cowl for Duran Duran within the early 80s. I really like Duran Duran, and Tom and I had a DJ play ‘Rio’ at our wedding ceremony—now virtually 31 years in the past,” Hunt shared, reflecting on her unrecognized iconic standing.
Duran Duran, themselves, have been bowled over by the information. They shared Walker’s Instagram publish with an ecstatic “WOW!” on their official account, although they’ve but to make a proper assertion. The band’s connection to the album stays robust, with “Rio” that includes hits like ‘Hungry Just like the Wolf’ and ‘Save a Prayer.’ The album considerably contributed to their world fame, resulting in their induction into the Rock and Roll Corridor of Fame in 2022 and the discharge of their sixteenth studio album, ‘Danse Macabre,’ in October 2023.
Patrick Nagel, whose art-deco pop-art fashion that includes dark-haired girls turned iconic within the early Eighties, tragically handed away in 1984 on the age of 38, abandoning a legacy that continues to affect and captivate. This latest identification of Marcie Hunt not solely solves a long-standing thriller but in addition pays homage to Nagel’s inventive imaginative and prescient, reaffirming the enduring attract of his work and its cultural influence.
This discovery is greater than only a curious footnote within the annals of music historical past; it’s a testomony to the lasting impression of artwork and its potential to attach with audiences throughout generations. The face of “Rio,” now recognized, continues to bounce within the imaginations of followers previous and new, embodying the colourful spirit of the Eighties that Duran Duran so masterfully captured.
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