Erte (Romain) de Tirtoff Custom Framed Art by ArtPassions.com

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Erte (Romain) de Tirtoff

Erte (Romain de Tirtoff)

Romain de Tirtoff, later known as Erte, was born in St. Petersburg, Russia in 1892, the only son of an Admiral of the Imperial Fleet and a member of the social elite of Russian society. He was influenced at an early age by the Persian miniatures in his father's library that were the impetus for the intricate brightly patterned designs that became a signature of his unique ...see more » style. The artist moved to Paris in 1912 at the age of 18 despite opposition from his father who wanted him to become a naval officer. He changed his name to Erte, based on the French pronunciation of his initials R and T, and remained a French citizen all his life.

The designer worked for the couturier Poiret and his fashion designs were immediately popular with the leading couturiers and fashion houses of the day. In 1915 he began an association with Harper's Bazaar to illustrate their magazine covers - he created more than 240 covers and his association lasted for more than twenty years with this illustrious publication. The popularity of the magazine and of Erte's covers led to a new art movement called Art Deco. He became known as the Father of Art Deco and his innovative designs and artistic style made him one of the most influential and unique artists of the 20th century.

His fashion designs also appeared in many other magazines, making him one of the most popular artists of the 1920s. Erte created fashion designs and costumes for many of the leading actresses of the time, including Lillian Gish, Marion Davies, Joan Crawford and Anna Pavlova. In addition, he designed for theater productions of the Casino de Paris, the Paris Opera, and the Folies-Bergere, as well as George White's Scandals and New York's Radio City Music Hall and in Hollywood he designed for such films as Ben Hur.

Erte started a new career in the late1960s when he was 75 to recreate the designs of his youth in bronze and serigraphy that is a design printed by the artist in the silk-screen process. This brought about a revival of the Art Deco style that he had originally initiated so many years before. The French government awarded him the title of Officer of Arts and Letters in 1976 and in 1982 he was presented with the Medaille de Vermeil de la Ville de Paris (presumably for his work in bronze as vermeil means bronze or gilded in French).

While visiting Mauritius in 1990, Erte became ill and was flown home to his home in Paris where he died at the age of 97. He work can be found at museums and galleries around the world, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, The Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., the Los Angeles County Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

Feather Gown (mini)
by Erte (Romain) de Tirtoff