Remembrance of Design Past: Erté
When Romain de Tirtoff Erté was asked to put together a few lines about himself for the March 1919 issue of Harper’s Bazar, he was hesitant to reflect on his body of work at that point in his life: ‘Those things told by an old master might interest the public, but I prefer to give your readers my work, for at my age my art, which is my life, is the only language through which I speak with the world.’ (Stella Blum. Fashion Drawings and Illustrations from “Harper’s Bazar†New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1976) When considering the constant wellspring of fresh designs produced throughout his long life, perhaps there never was a time in which he would be comfortable speaking any other language.
Erté for Harper’s Bazar, January 1918 Blum