Love's Screen

Erté (Romaine de Tirtoff; 1892 – 1989, Russian/French) “Love’s Screen” (1980) Limited-edition serigraph, pencil signed by the artist in the lower right and numbered 161/300 in the lower left margin.  The work of art features two figures kissing behind a fan and the 6.5 x 9-inch image was printed on Arches paper and published by Circle Fine Art Corp.  Surrounded by pink and silver metallic matting with a black wood frame, the piece measures 18.5 x 22.5 inches. 

Romain de Tirtoff was a Russian-born French artist and designer known by the pseudonym  Erté, from the French pronunciation of his initials.  In 1915 he got his first substantial contract with Harper's Bazaar magazine and went on to an illustrious career that included work in graphic arts, interior design, fashion, jewelry, costume and set design for the stage and silver screen, becoming a leader of the Art Deco style. Erté is perhaps most famous for his elegant fashion designs which capture the art deco period in which he worked.  He began his work with the fine print media in the 1970s, publishing more than 180 of his designs through the Circle Fine Art Corporation.  In his later years, his foray into the recreation of his earlier designs into bronze sculptures coincided with a resurgence of interest in the Art Deco style.