ERTE

Erté was born in Imperial St. Petersburg, Russia, in the year 1892. His family had a long and distinguished history as officers in the Russian Royal Navy. His given name was Romain De Tirtoff, but he adopted the title Erté later as a young man in Paris, after hearing the French pronunciation of his initials, R.T. As a young child, he preferred solitude, quiet, and beautiful things. He did not enjoy the rough games of his schoolmates. Growing up, the Russian cultural scene fed his imagination and exposed him to the very best of everything he loved - Theater, Pageantry, Beauty and Refinement.

In 1912, at age 19, Erté moved to Paris, where his unique talents for design and fashion were recognized at once by the city's most established couturiers. Designers, such as the world famous Paul Poiret, whose fashion house promptly hired Erté to work for them. A few years Later, in an amazing collaboration that lasted for over 21 years, Erté began to work for the magazine Harper’s Bazaar, as the artist responsible for designing the magazine covers.The high visibility of the periodical, with its' tremendous circulation and its' wide, cultured audience, gave Ertés work many, many years of mainstream exposure. Designing artwork for Harper's Bazaar magazine not only gave Erté worldwide recognition for his work, but it also allowed Erté the time and forum to develop his own personal artistic style. His style has influenced generations of artists, and has even changed the face of modern art & design.

The artistic style that Erté created eventually became known as ART DECO. Throughout his long and illustrious career, Erté designed amazing theater sets and outrageous costumes for innumerable operas, stage shows, and films. In fact, many of the era's most renowned screen actors and actresses regularly sought Erté to produce magnificent original fashions and flamboyant costume designs for their production.