Woman with Red Shield and Attendant, 1980

Erte, born Romain de Tirtoff in Saint Petersburg in 1892, was a celebrated French artist and designer renowned for his influential role in the Art Deco movement. After relocating to Paris in 1912, Erte adopted his famous pseudonym and quickly established himself as a visionary in fashion illustration, costume, and set design. His work is characterized by elegant, elongated figures, intricate patterns, and a refined sense of theatricality, spanning mediums such as gouache, bronze sculpture, jewelry, and graphic arts. Erte’s distinctive style graced the covers of Harper’s Bazaar for over two decades and left a lasting mark on stage and screen through collaborations with the Folies Bergère, the Paris Opera, and Hollywood studios.

Throughout his prolific career, Erte’s creations were celebrated in major institutional exhibitions, including retrospectives at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. His works are held in the permanent collections of these and other leading museums worldwide. At auction, Erte’s pieces have consistently attracted international attention, with Sotheby’s and Christie’s regularly featuring his original gouaches, sculptures, and limited-edition prints. Notably, his works have achieved significant results at these prestigious houses, reflecting enduring demand among collectors. Erte continued to create until his death in 1990, leaving a legacy as one of the 20th century’s most influential decorative artists.