Erté (Romain de Tirtoff)
Andrew Weiss Gallery is pleased to present the works of Russian-born French designer and artist, Romain de Tirtoff, more commonly known by the pseudonym Erté. Andrew Weiss Gallery recently acquired over 40 different unique fashion illustrations created by Erté in the 20th century. Each piece is unique, richly colored and has a personality of its own. These eye-catching gouaches are windows into the Golden Age of fashion and theatre.
Erté was a vastly diverse artist who excelled in an array of fields including fashion, jewelry, graphic arts, costume and set design for film, theatre, opera, and interior decor. Erté designed over 200 covers for the popular magazine, Harper's Bazaar, as well as many others including Illustrated London News, Cosmopolitan, Ladies' Home Journal, and Vogue.
This particular group of works are from the private collection of Hélène Martini, the famed cabaret owner who is also referred to as the Empress or the Countess of Cabaret. Martini is best known for her involvement with the Parisian cabarets and owns 10 nightspots and cabarets all over the city including the infamous Folies Bergere and Folies Pigalle. Martini and Erté were such great friends that he left this entire collection to her after he passed away.
