This is a Hand-signed L/E Silkscreen, by Erte (Romain de Tirtoff)
Romain de Tirtoff (Erte) (Russia, 1892-1990) "Cleopatra", Silkscreen. Limited Edition of 300, signed, dated & numbered in pencil, with printers blind stamp lower left. Very good condition & comes framed. Size: Ext. 36 x 31 ins Int. 25 x 19 1/2 ins. Numbered 62/300. Retail Price: $6,500
Disclaimer - Our prints/original art are purchased from various dealers, auctions and sales as "genuine" some with Certificates of Authentication", and are sold by us as such. However, in the unlikely event that the article is not genuine, we will make an immediate and full refund, without hesitation, if the item is returned to us in exactly the same condition it was received, with no damage, marks or folds, within 14 days of receipt.
Erte, Russian (1892 - 1990)
Erte was born Romain de Tirtoff in St. Petersburg, Russia.
The only son of an admiral in the Imperial Fleet, he was raised amidst Russia's
social elite. As a young boy, he was fascinated by the Persian miniatures he
found in his father's library. These exotic, brightly patterned designs
continued to be important to him and influenced the development of his style.
He moved to Paris at the age of eighteen and took the name Erte, from the
French pronunciation of his initials, R and T.
In 1915 he began his long relationship with Harper's Bazaar,
during which time he created over 240 covers for the magazine. His fashion
designs also appeared in many other publications, making him one of the most
widely recognized artists of the 1920s. He also designed costumes and sets for
the theater. In 1976 the French government awarded Erte the title of Officer of
Arts and Letters, and in 1982 the Medaille de Vermeil de la Ville de Paris was
bestowed upon him. His work is in many prominent museums, including the
Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Los Angeles County Museum, the
Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., and the Victoria and Albert Museum
in London.
The designs created by Erté during his long and illustrious
life influenced not only the world of theatre, film and fashion, but an entire
art movement as well. The genius of the artist is evidenced by an enormous body
of work that is considered among the most influential and unique of the 20th
century. Erté—Romain de Tirtoff—was born in Russia in 1892, and died at age 97
in 1990. His legendary career spanned nearly the entire length of his life. In
1912, Erté moved to Paris and his unique talent was immediately recognized by
the city’s most established couturiers. In 1915, he began an association with
Harper’s Bazaar by designing covers of each of their magazines for the next 22
years. The influence of his work as a result of the high visibility of this
periodical influenced an entire art movement that was to become known as “Art
Deco”. Throughout this period, the artist also created original costume and
fashion designs for many of the era’s most renowned screen actresses, including
Joan Crawford, Lillian Gish, Marion Davies, Anna Pavlova, Norma Shearer and others.
His creations for the stage included extravagent designs for productions at
such venues as New York’s Radio City Music Hall, the Casino de Paris and the
Paris Opera, as well as for the Folies-Bergères and George White’s Scandals.
a At the age of 75, Erté was encouraged to embark on a new
career and began to recreate the remarkable designs of his youth in bronze and
serigraphy. The Art Deco movement was hence reborn. A lifetime of international
success and recognition has ensured this unique artist's place in the annals of
art history, and his original designs grace the permanent collections of
prestigious museums throughout the world including New York’s Metropolitan
Museum of Art, Museum of Modern Art, the Smithsonian Institution and London’s
Victoria & Albert Museum.
Erté is perhaps best remembered for the gloriously
extravagant costumes and stage sets that he designed for the Folies-Bergère in
Paris and George White's Scandals in New York, which exploit to the full his
taste for the exotic and romantic, and his appreciation of the sinuous and
lyrical human figure.
As well as the music-hall, Erté also designed for the opera
and the traditional theatre, and spent a brief and not wholly satisfactory
period in Hollywood in 1925, at the invitation of Louis B. Mayer, head of
Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer
After a period of relative obscurity in the 1940s and 1950s, Erté's characteristic style found a new and enthusiastic market in the 1960s, and the artist responded to renewed demand by creating a series of colorful lithographic prints and sculpture. This luxuriously illustrated museum contains a rich and representative selection of images, drawn from throughout Erté's long and extraordinary productive career