Portrait of the painter Tamara de Lempicka (1898 - 1980). Early 1930s. Vintage, ferrotyped, warm-toned gelatin silver print. 22 x 16,8 cm. Signed by the photographer in lower right corner in the negative; 3 archive stamps and typed paper label affixed to the verso.
During the roaring 1920s Tamara de Lempicka was part of the bohemian life in Paris: she knew Pablo Picasso, Jean Cocteau, and André Gide. Famous for her libido, she was bisexual, and her affairs with both men and women were considered scandalous at the time. She often used formal and narrative elements in her portraits and nude studies to produce overpowering effects of desire and seduction. Her distinctive and bold artistic style developed quickly and epitomized the cool yet sensual side of the Art Deco movement. The Great Depression had little effect on her; in the early 1930s she was painting King Alfonso XIII of Spain and Queen Elizabeth of Greece and museums began to collect her works. In 1933 she traveled to Chicago where she worked with Georgia O'Keeffe, Santiago Martínez Delgado and Willem de Kooning. The text label on the verso of the photo offered here reads: "The noted Polish painter of beautiful royalties, wearing a pancake cap of black leather by Rose Descat". This a very rare image of de Lempicka which has seldom been published. - Minimal silver mirroring in dark areas, a few light handling creases, otherwise in very good condition.