Erte (1892-1990) Russian/French, Original 1922 Gouache on Paper Illustration. Depicts a costumed character from one of the early theater pieces he worked on. Signed on right. Titled on back of image: "Les Tresors de l'Indo-Chine, No. 576, Les Monstres de la Mer." Dated 1922 on back as well. 

Overall Size: 25 1/2 x 30 in. 

Sight Size: 7 3/4 x 11 3/4 in. 

Frame Thickness: 1 1/2 in. 

Romain de Tirtoff, known by the pseudonym Erté (from the French pronunciation of his initials), was born Roman Petrovich Tyrtov on November 23rd, 1892 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. His father served as an admiral in the Russian fleet, and his mother was Ukrainian. An early passion for theater and dance morphed into a life-long obsession with painting and design. In his early teens he traveled to Paris to study sculpture, becoming enamored with Art Nouveau and eventually relocating to the city permanently in 1912, living with Prince Nicolas Oroussoff. Between 1915 and 1937 he shifted to using his mononym and designed over 200 covers for Harper’s Bazaar, Cosmopolitan, and Vogue magazines. His elegant fashion designs also shifted into a focus on Art Deco, capturing the imaginations of impresarios Louis B. Mayer and Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. His place in the evolution of 20th Century art, in everything from fashion to graphic arts to set design for film, theater, and interior decor, is unrivaled and indisputable. In the decade before his death he branched out into the realm of  prints, bronzes, and wearable art, including seven limited edition bottle designs for Courvoisier showing the different stages of cognac-making. He passed away April 21st, 1990.