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Erte
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Romain de Tirtoff (pseudonym Erté, a French pronounciation of initials R.T.) (23 November 1892 - 21 April 1990) was a French artist and designer. Born in St. Petersburg, Russian Empire, to a very distingushed family, their roots trace back to 1548. In 1910-1912 Erté gradually moved to Paris to persue a career of a designer. This decision was made over strong objections of his father, who wanted Erté to continue a familty tradition and to become a marine officer. He then assumed the pseudomym to avoid disgracing the family. 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.
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.
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