Muriel Draper

Muriel Draper (c. 1886 – August 26, 1952) was an American writer, artist and social activist.

Muriel Draper
Muriel Draper (1934). Photo by Carl Van Vechten
Born	1886
Died	1952
Occupation	writer, artist, social activist
Spouse(s)	Paul Draper
Children	Raimund Sanders Draper Paul Draper

Moving in English and American art circles, she participated in the Harlem Renaissance. A follower of Russian mystic G. I. Gurdjieff, she collaborated with other followers, including poet Jean Toomer. In 1929 she published her major work Music at Midnight, for which she became widely known.

After a trip to the Soviet Union in 1934, she became active in left-wing politics. She also visited Spain during the Civil War and later raised funds for the loyalists in New York.

In 1949, she was investigated by the House Un-American Activities Committee and ceased her political activities as a result. Her papers are stored at Yale University. She was a member of the Women's International Democratic Federation, and its American affiliate the Congress of American Women of which she was president in 1949.[1]