Portrait of Maud Wagner (1907)by Unknown Photographer Maud Stevens Wagner (née Stevens; February 12, 1877 – January 30, 1961) was an American circus performer. She was the first known female tattoo artist in the United States. Wagner was an aerialist and contortionist, working in numerous traveling circuses. She met Gus Wagner—a tattoo artist who described himself as "the most artistically marked up man in America" while traveling with circuses and sideshows—at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition Circus Performer, Louisiana Purchase, Circus Performers, Female Tattoo Artists, Poster Tube, Female Tattoo, Candle Wax Melts, Garden Wall Art, World's Fair