This auction is for an original, vintage print sourced from a first edition book. The volume celebrated and reproduced Erte's theatrical designs, as well as some designs for Harper's Bazaar. The selection of plates being offered covered the period from 1911 to 1975, and most of the works had not been replicated prior to this publicaton. The drawings reproduced in this book were executed in indian ink, or gouache and metallic paint.
Date Published: 1978 by Academy Editions, Holland Street, London W8
Print size 6 1/4 inches x 9 1/4 inches
The print is in very good condition and is printed on quality glossy paper. Printing on the reverse does not show through. It is ideal for framing either alone or in a group to provide a timeless, nostalgic charm.
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Erté was the pseudonym given to Romain de Tirtoff (23 November 1892 – 21 April 1990), being the French pronunciation of his initials, R.T. He was a Russian-born French artist and designer who flourished in a wide variety of fields including fashion, jewellery, costume and set design for films, theatre and the opera. Between 1915 and 1937 Erté designed over 200 covers for Harper's Bazaar and his illustrations also appeared in publications including the Illustrated London News, Cosmopolitan, Ladies Home Journal and Vogue. He lived to be nearly 98!
Erté is perhaps most famous for his elegant fashion designs which capture the Art Deco period in which he worked. One of his earliest successes was designing for the French dancer Gaby Deslys who died in 1920. His delicate figures and sophisticated, glamorous designs are instantly recognisable, and his ideas and art still influence fashion into the 21st century. His costumes and set designs were featured in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1923 and many productions of the Folies Bergeres.
In 1925 Louis B. Mayer brought him to Hollywood to design sets and costumes for many of the Silent Films. By far his best known image is Symphony in Black, depicting a tall, slender woman draped in black holding a thin black dog on a leash.
In the New York Times Erté was described as "an Aubrey Beardsley who mastered the Foxtrot and occasionally broke into the Charleston". But whether his spectacular designs for Broadway, the Folies Bergeres in Hollywood or in the exquisite plates from 1911 to 1975 which are contained in this fascinating selection I am now able to offer individually, Erté is always, unmistakably himself. An artist whose superb draughtsmanship and unflagging creativity renders everything he designs into an object of lasting beauty.
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