A.100

circa1927

Crayon on paper

LEMPICKA. (artist's stamp bottom right)

(Etude pour le "portrait du grand duc" I)

See B.77.

Collections

1990 - Private collection - U.S.A.

Exhibitions

1994 - Accademia di Francia (Villa Medici), "Tamara de Lempicka/ Tra eleganza e trasgressione", Rome, Italy

History

Great duke Gabriel CONSTANTINOVITCH, Portrait retained by Lempicka: Grand Duke Gabriel Constantinovitch (Pavlosk, 1887 - Paris, 1955) was the son of the Duchess of Saxony, and the great grandson of Czar Nicholas I. A regimental lieutenant in the Hussar Guards, he became aide de camp to Nicholas II in 1910, and was a Knight of the Order of Saint André. According to Gioia Mori, "Grand Duke C. had been the president of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Fine Arts, which Tamara may have attended during her stay from 1914 to 1918..." His somewhat distraught countenance can be explained in the light of all the snubs he endured at the time of the Revolution (see the moving account by Gioia Mori, Tamara de Lempicka, Paris 1920-1938. op.cit. pp. 65-69). Actually, the haughty pride conveyed by his portrait is at variance with what we know of this pleasant and courteous figure, who published (in Russian, in New York) his memoirs under the title Dans un palais de marbre (In a Marble Palace). The portrait Lempicka did of him had remained in her studio.

A.101

circa1927

Crayon on paper

(Etude pour le "portrait du grand duc" II)

See B.77.

History

Great duke Gabriel CONSTANTINOVITCH, Portrait retained by Lempicka: Grand Duke Gabriel Constantinovitch (Pavlosk, 1887 - Paris, 1955) was the son of the Duchess of Saxony, and the great grandson of Czar Nicholas I. A regimental lieutenant in the Hussar Guards, he became aide de camp to Nicholas II in 1910, and was a Knight of the Order of Saint André. According to Gioia Mori, "Grand Duke C. had been the president of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Fine Arts, which Tamara may have attended during her stay from 1914 to 1918..." His somewhat distraught countenance can be explained in the light of all the snubs he endured at the time of the Revolution (see the moving account by Gioia Mori, Tamara de Lempicka, Paris 1920-1938. op.cit. pp. 65-69). Actually, the haughty pride conveyed by his portrait is at variance with what we know of this pleasant and courteous figure, who published (in Russian, in New York) his memoirs under the title Dans un palais de marbre (In a Marble Palace). The portrait Lempicka did of him had remained in her studio.

A.102

circa1927

Crayon on paper

T.DE LEMPICKA. (artist's stamp bottom right)

(Etude pour "la belle Rafaëla")

See B.87.

Auctions

21/06/1988 - PARIS. Briest, # 144 $ 2 000

A.103

circa1928

Crayon on paper

Lempicka (artist's stamp top right)

(Croquis. Nu couché)

A.104

circa1928

Crayon on paper

T. de Lempicka (bottom left)

(Nu assis se cachant le visage)

Collections

1972 - Private collection - France

A.105

circa1928

Crayon on paper

T.DE LEMPICKA. (artist's stamp bottom right)

(Croquis. Nu debout)

A.106

circa1928

Crayon on paper

T.DE LEMPICKA. (artist's stamp bottom right)

(Croquis. Nu assis)

Collections

1995 - Private collection - France

Exhibitions

1997 - Hiroshima Museum of Arts. Tamara de Lempicka, Tokyo-Hiroshima, Japan

A.107

circa1928

Crayon on paper

T.DE LEMPICKA. (artist's stamp bottom right)

(Croquis. Nu assis)

Collections

1996 - Private collection - France

Exhibitions

1997 - Hiroshima Museum of Arts. Tamara de Lempicka, Tokyo-Hiroshima, Japan

A.108

circa1928

Crayon on paper

T.DE LEMPICKA. (artist's stamp bottom right)

(Croquis. Nu couché)

Collections

1997 - Collection of Anna Gardner Luce - U.S.A.

A.109

circa1928

Crayon on paper

T.DE LEMPICKA. (artist's stamp bottom right)

(Croquis. Nu assis)

Collections

1996 - Private collection - France

Exhibitions

1997 - Hiroshima Museum of Arts. Tamara de Lempicka, Tokyo-Hiroshima, Japan

A.110

circa1928

Crayon on paper

T.DE LEMPICKA (artist's stamp bottom right)

(Croquis. Nu assis)

Auctions

21/06/1988 - PARIS. Briest, # 161 $ 3 000

A.111

circa1928

Crayon on paper

T.DE LEMPICKA (artist's stamp bottom right)

(Croquis. Nu assis accoudé)

Auctions

21/02/1990 - NEW YORK. Sotheby's Arcade ”1309”, # 56 $ 0
21/06/1988 - PARIS. Briest, # 173 $ 2 170

A.112

circa1928

Crayon on paper

Lempicka (artist's stamp bottom left)

(Croquis. Nu debout)

Collections

1980 - Private collection - U.S.A.

A.113

circa1928

Pastel on paper

(Etude pour "la communiante")

See B.102.

Collections

1980 - Private collection - U.S.A.

Exhibitions

1997 - Hiroshima Museum of Arts. Tamara de Lempicka, Tokyo-Hiroshima, Japan

History

The RELIGIOUS FEELING, Biography, Psychology: Religious feeling, intrinsic to Tamara de Lempicka's nature, began showing through in her oeuvre with works such as "Mother and Child" (B.12), although, admittedly, this work in particular was created under the direct influence of Maurice Denis. The moral crisis undergone by the artist from 1934 to 1936 exacerbated this feeling. And, finally, at the end of her life, Lempicka commended her soul to God through her numerous replicas of Madonna and St. Anthony (which, moreover, stood side to side with other copies of the sulfurous Rafaëla).
Lempicka gave birth to her daughter at a very young age. Quite early on, she used Kizette as a model, painting her through a marvelling eye. The five large-scale portraits she did of Kizette, between 1923 and 1933, remain among the most noteworthy of her artistic accomplishments. Baroness de Lempicka-Foxhall, as Kizette has now become, gathered together her recollections and, with the help of Charles Phillips, published them in the form of a biography in 1987: Passion by Design, The Art and Times of Tamara de Lempicka, op.cit.

A.114

circa1928

Crayon on paper

(Portrait de Tadeusz de Lempicki)

Collections

1989 - Gutnayer Collection, Wilmette - U.S.A.

Exhibitions

1997 - Hiroshima Museum of Arts. Tamara de Lempicka, Tokyo-Hiroshima, Japan

History

Tadeusz LEMPITZKI, Family or close friend: In 1916, in Petrograd (St. Petersburg), Tamara Gorska married Count Tadeusz Lempitzki (or Lempicki, since the nobiliary particle was added later, in France). After jointly emigrating to France with their daughter Kizette, the couple divorced in 1928.

A.115

circa1928

Crayon on paper

Lempicka 1928 (bottom right)

(Tête de femme)

Auctions

06/12/1995 - PARIS. De Quay, Lombrail, Drouot Montaigne, # 148 $ 7 292

A.116

circa1929

Crayon on paper

Lempicka (artist's stamp bottom right)

(Croquis. Nu agenouillé)

Collections

1980 - Fundacion Victor Manuel Contreras - Mexico

A.117

circa1929

Crayon on paper

T.de Lempicka (bottom right)

(Croquis. Nu assis)

Collections

1989 - Collection of Anna Gardner Luce - U.S.A.

A.118

circa1929

Crayon on paper

Lempicka (artist's stamp bottom left)

(Croquis. Nu féminin)

Collections

1994 - Private collection - Italy

Auctions

12/12/1990 - MILANO. Finarte 0-12-039, # 38 $ 5 700
19/06/1991 - MILANO. Finarte 1-06-47, # 48 $ 5 800
14/06/1994 - ROME. Finarte, "904", # 181 $ 4 285

A.119

circa1929

Crayon on paper

T.DE LEMPICKA (artist's stamp bottom right)

(Croquis. Nu debout)

Auctions

21/06/1988 - PARIS. Briest, # 163 $ 2 330

A.120

circa1929

Crayon on paper

T. de Lempicka (bottom left)

(Etreinte)

Auctions

05/07/1988 - PARIS. Renaud, # 29 $ 3 370

A.121

circa1929

Crayon on paper

de Lempicka (bottom right)

(Homme nu, assis)

Collections

1995 - Private collection - France

Auctions

05/05/1986 - PARIS. Renaud, # 21 $ 0
30/11/1987 - PARIS. Poulain, Le Fur, # ? $ 1 030

A.122

circa1929

Crayon on paper

de Lempicka (bottom right)

(Nu, un bras levé)

Auctions

05/05/1986 - PARIS. Renaud, # 24 $ 0

A.123

circa1929

Crayon on paper

Lempicka (artist's stamp bottom left)

(Nu assis de dos)

A.124

1929

Crayon on paper

(Etude pour l'autoportrait)

This drawing (in recirca e of the painting) was meant to be transferred onto the painting panel. See B.115.

Auctions

13/05/1987 - NEW YORK. Phillips “662”, # 48 $ 10 000

A.125

circa1929

Crayon on paper

T.de Lempicka (bottom right)

(Femme en robe du soir)

Auctions

05/05/1986 - PARIS. Renaud, # 22 $ 920

A.126

1929

Crayon on paper

LEMPICKA. (bottom right)

(Etude pour le "portrait de la femme en jaune")

See B.127.

Collections

1980 - Fundacion Victor Manuel Contreras - Mexico

A.127

1929

Conté pencil on paper

T.K. (middle right)

(Etude pour le "portrait de Mrs. Bush" I)

The monogram T.K. stands for Tamara Kuffner; this is the only example of its being used. See B.126.

Exhibitions

1981 - Walter Haas: Art Déco, le Style Moderne Zuerich, Switzerland

History

First stay in the UNITED STATES, Addresses: Tamara de Lempicka travelled to New York in September 1929, in order to fulfil several commissions. The press was very much taken with the beautiful Polish woman's aura. Her skilful way of suggesting the aristocratic charms of the Old World high society in her art made her a manner of ambassadress of that world.
Mrs. Rufus BUSH, Client: Mrs. Rufus Bush was a wealthy heiress. When she sat for Lempicka, she was 19 and freshly married. After her divorce three years later, she had the painting stored away and promptly forgot all about it. Sixty years later, her daughter was surprised to discover, while reading Kizette de Lempicka's book, that her mother was involved. Out of curiosity, the daughter paid a visit to the old storehouse harboring remnants of various family moves, where she came upon the painting. In a letter she immediately got off to share here feelings with Kizette, the daughter writes: "There it was, like new, in perfect condition, unmoved over the past sixty years! It was a moving experience, like opening a time capsule." This was the commission that had brought Lempicka to New York in 1929.

A.128

1929

Conté pencil on paper

de Lempicka (bottom right)

(Etude pour le "portrait de Mr. Bush" II)

See B.126.

Exhibitions

1981 - Walter Haas: Art Déco, le Style Moderne, Zürich, Switzerland

History

First stay in the UNITED STATES, Addresses: Tamara de Lempicka travelled to New York in September 1929, in order to fulfil several commissions. The press was very much taken with the beautiful Polish woman's aura. Her skilful way of suggesting the aristocratic charms of the Old World high society in her art made her a manner of ambassadress of that world.
Mrs. Rufus BUSH, client: Mrs. Rufus Bush was a wealthy heiress. When she sat for Lempicka, she was 19 and freshly married. After her divorce three years later, she had the painting stored away and promptly forgot all about it. Sixty years later, her daughter was surprised to discover, while reading Kizette de Lempicka's book, that her mother was involved. Out of curiosity, the daughter paid a visit to the old storehouse harboring remnants of various family moves, where she came upon the painting. In a letter she immediately got off to share here feelings with Kizette, the daughter writes: "There it was, like new, in perfect condition, unmoved over the past sixty years! It was a moving experience, like opening a time capsule." This was the commission that had brought Lempicka to New York in 1929.

A.129

1929

Crayon on paper

T.DE LEMPICKA (artist's stamp bottom right)

(Etude pour le "portrait de Mrs. Bush" III)

See B.126.

Collections

1985 - Private collection - France

Exhibitions

1997 - Hiroshima Museum of Arts. Tamara de Lempicka, Tokyo-Hiroshima, Japan

History

First stay in the UNITED STATES, Addresses: Tamara de Lempicka travelled to New York in September 1929, in order to fulfil several commissions. The press was very much taken with the beautiful Polish woman's aura. Her skilful way of suggesting the aristocratic charms of the Old World high society in her art made her a manner of ambassadress of that world.
Mrs. Rufus BUSH, Client: Mrs. Rufus Bush was a wealthy heiress. When she sat for Lempicka, she was 19 and freshly married. After her divorce three years later, she had the painting stored away and promptly forgot all about it. Sixty years later, her daughter was surprised to discover, while reading Kizette de Lempicka's book, that her mother was involved. Out of curiosity, the daughter paid a visit to the old storehouse harboring remnants of various family moves, where she came upon the painting. In a letter she immediately got off to share here feelings with Kizette, the daughter writes: "There it was, like new, in perfect condition, unmoved over the past sixty years! It was a moving experience, like opening a time capsule." This was the commission that had brought Lempicka to New York in 1929.

B.082

1927

Oil on canvas

DE LEMPICKA. / 27 (bottom left)

(Kizette au balcon *)

The girl, clasping a virtual apple in her right hand, stands on the balcony, an eminently transitional space. A warm light radiates protectively from within while, down below, on the outside, the nocturnal chaos of the city, as seen from the balcony, inspires forebodings. A photo, by Marc Vaux, of the first circa ion of this painting reveals that, for this circa ion, the face and hairdo were changed.

Collections

1976 - Musée National d'Art Moderne - Paris

Exhibitions

1927 - Exposition de Bordeaux, "Exposition Internationale des Beaux-Arts", Bordeaux, France
1927 - Salon d'Automne 1927, Paris, France
1928 - Musée des Beaux-Arts de Nantes, "Salon", Nantes, France
1929 - Carnegie Institute 1929, "28th International Exhibition of Paintings", Pittsburgh, United States
1929 - "Cercle des Artistes Polonais à Paris", Paris, France
1930 - Galerie Colette Weil 1930, "Tamara de Lempicka", Paris, France
1961 - Galerie Ror-Volmar, "T. de Lempicka, œuvres récentes et anciennes, 1930-1960", Paris, France

History

Her Daughter KIZETTE, Family or close friend: Lempicka gave birth to her daughter at a very young age. Quite early on, she used Kizette as a model, painting her through a marvelling eye. The five large-scale portraits she did of Kizette, between 1923 and 1933, remain among the most noteworthy of her artistic accomplishments. Baroness de Lempicka-Foxhall, as Kizette has now become, gathered together her recollections and, with the help of Charles Phillips, published them in the form of a biography in 1987: Passion by Design, The Art and Times of Tamara de Lempicka, op.cit.

B.083

1927

Oil on wood panel

DE LEMPICKA. (top right)

(Lassitude *)

A painting given as a gift to the Polish art critic Woroniecki, whose reviews lavished praise on Lempicka's public events.

Collections

1927 - Purchased directly by Mr. Woroniecki - Poland
1979 - National Museum Warsaw - Poland

Exhibitions

1992 - The National Museum of Women in the Art, "Polish Women Artists and Avant-Garde/Voices of Freedom", Washington, United States

History

The art critic WORUNIECKI, Art critic: Woroniecki wrote the art reviews for the newpaperLa Pologne , published in Paris during the twenties. He owned one of Lempicka's paintings, "Lassitude" (B.83); the work now belongs to the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art of Warsaw. One wonders whether the artist made a gift of this painting to the critic, in gratitude for his always very flattering reviews of Lempicka's public appearances. Lempicka's daughter remembers that he was a very wealthy man, and that he courted his mother, with whom he travelled to Italy.

B.084

1927

Oil on canvas

DE LEMPICKA. (bottom right)

(La tunique rose *)

Another portrait of Rafaela, shown here as reclining on a couch and wearing what was, at the time, termed a pink "tunic". The identity of this model was listed by Lempicka herself in her address book, together with the name of the work's owner. Just as in the nude painting she did of the same model ("La belle Rafaëla", B.87), the color harmonies have been rstricted to one dominant color and various shades of gray.

Collections

1927 - Purchased directly by Mr. Vandercook - U.S.A.
1972 - FAR Gallery - U.S.A.
1975 - Private collection - U.S.A.
1983 - Private collection - U.S.A.

Exhibitions

1928 - Musée des Beaux-Arts de Nantes, "Salon", Nantes, France
1972 - FAR Gallery, "Women-Femmes-Mujeres-Frauen", New-York, United States

History

La belle RAFAELA, Social connexion: In the biography she devoted to her mother, Lizette de Lempicka-Foxhall informs us that "la belle" Rafaëla apparently approached Lempicka during one of the latter's daily morning walks in the Bois de Boulogne. The young woman, presented to us as a nymphomaniac, but not necessarily venal, is said to have struck Lempicka by her beauty ""...Never had I seen a more beautiful woman - enormous black eyes, a splendid body. I stopped her and asked: 'Miss, I am a painter and I would like you to come sit for me. Would you accept?' She answered: 'Yes, why not?' So I said to her: 'Well, then, come along. My car is here.' "Lempicka seems to have been fully satisfied with her model, since she had her continue the sittings for over a year: for " The Pink Tunic" (B.84) in particular, but apparently she can also be recognized in "The Dream" (B.85), which is captioned "Rafaëla against a Green Background" in an article by Arsène Alexandre ("Tamara de Lempicka", La Renaissance de l'art français et des industries de luxe, July, 1929)

Auctions

01/10/1983 - NEW YORK. Christie's “Breuer-5404", # 155 $ 75 000

B.085

1927

Oil on canvas

(Le rêve *)

This portrait, imbued with gentleness and a sense of modesty, is a far cry from the dubious world one might guess, given the circumstances of "La belle Rafaëla's" encounter along the Bois de Boulogne pathways (cf. "RAFAELA" in the Repertory). Lempicka's album lists: Rafaela on Green Background / July 1927.

Collections

1984 - Barry Friedman Ltd. - U.S.A.
1985 - Collection of Mrs. Àntonia Schulman - U.S.A.

Exhibitions

1929 - Salon des Indépendants 1929, Paris, France
1929 - Carnegie Institute 1929, "28th International Exhibition of Paintings", Pittsburgh, United States
1981 - Seibu, "Tamara de Lempicka", Tokyo-Osaka, Japan
1994 - Accademia di Francia (Villa Medici), "Tamara de Lempicka/ Tra eleganza e trasgressione", Rome, Italy
1996 - Barry Friedman Ltd. "Tamara de Lempicka", New-York, United States
1997 - Hiroshima Museum of Arts. Tamara de Lempicka, Tokyo-Hiroshima, Japan

History

La belle RAFAELA, Social connexion: In the biography she devoted to her mother, Lizette de Lempicka-Foxhall informs us that "la belle" Rafaëla apparently approached Lempicka during one of the latter's daily morning walks in the Bois de Boulogne. The young woman, presented to us as a nymphomaniac, but not necessarily venal, is said to have struck Lempicka by her beauty ""...Never had I seen a more beautiful woman - enormous black eyes, a splendid body. I stopped her and asked: 'Miss, I am a painter and I would like you to come sit for me. Would you accept?' She answered: 'Yes, why not?' So I said to her: 'Well, then, come along. My car is here.' "Lempicka seems to have been fully satisfied with her model, since she had her continue the sittings for over a year: for " The Pink Tunic" (B.84) in particular, but apparently she can also be recognized in "The Dream" (B.85), which is captioned "Rafaëla against a Green Background" in an article by Arsène Alexandre ("Tamara de Lempicka", La Renaissance de l'art français et des industries de luxe, July, 1929)

B.086

circa1927

Oil on canvas

T.DE LEMPICKA. (top left)

(La belle Rafaela en vert)

This painting varies only slightly from the other circa ion: here the two arms are raised, and the perspective is emphasized even more strongly.

Collections

1986 - Walter Haas Gallery - Switzerland
1997 - Private collection -

Exhibitions

1994 - Accademia di Francia (Villa Medici), "Tamara de Lempicka/ Tra eleganza e trasgressione", Rome, Italy
1996 - Barry Friedman Ltd. "Tamara de Lempicka", New-York, United States

History

La belle RAFAELA, Social connexion: In the biography she devoted to her mother, Lizette de Lempicka-Foxhall informs us that "la belle" Rafaëla apparently approached Lempicka during one of the latter's daily morning walks in the Bois de Boulogne. The young woman, presented to us as a nymphomaniac, but not necessarily venal, is said to have struck Lempicka by her beauty ""...Never had I seen a more beautiful woman - enormous black eyes, a splendid body. I stopped her and asked: 'Miss, I am a painter and I would like you to come sit for me. Would you accept?' She answered: 'Yes, why not?' So I said to her: 'Well, then, come along. My car is here.' "Lempicka seems to have been fully satisfied with her model, since she had her continue the sittings for over a year: for " The Pink Tunic" (B.84) in particular, but apparently she can also be recognized in "The Dream" (B.85), which is captioned "Rafaëla against a Green Background" in an article by Arsène Alexandre ("Tamara de Lempicka", La Renaissance de l'art français et des industries de luxe, July, 1929)

Auctions

18/05/1990 - NEW YORK. Sotheby's “6020-Miracolo”, # 402 $ 0

B.087

1927

Oil on canvas

T.DE LEMPICKA. (top left)

(La belle Rafaela *)

A woman with a generously proportioned body reclines on her back. The decor, like the color harmony, has been reduced to its most basic expression. A red cloth, hiding the figure's feet, stands out against a black background: a clever device allowing the artist to crop her subject more tightly. Lempicka also underscored the impact of this composition by applying bold Caravaggesque formulas.

Collections

1927 - Purchased directly by Mr. Baudry - France
1967 - Galerie du Luxembourg - France
1975 - Private collection - France
1985 - Private collection - U.S.A.

Exhibitions

1927 - Salon d'Automne 1927, Paris, France
1928 - Musée des Beaux-Arts de Nantes, "Salon", Nantes, France
1928 - Salon des Indépendants 1928, Paris, France
1972 - Galerie du Luxembourg, "Tamara de Lempicka de 1925 à 1935", Paris, France
1994 - Accademia di Francia (Villa Medici), "Tamara de Lempicka/ Tra eleganza e trasgressione", Rome, Italy

History

La belle RAFAELA, Social connexion: In the biography she devoted to her mother, Lizette de Lempicka-Foxhall informs us that "la belle" Rafaëla apparently approached Lempicka during one of the latter's daily morning walks in the Bois de Boulogne. The young woman, presented to us as a nymphomaniac, but not necessarily venal, is said to have struck Lempicka by her beauty ""...Never had I seen a more beautiful woman - enormous black eyes, a splendid body. I stopped her and asked: 'Miss, I am a painter and I would like you to come sit for me. Would you accept?' She answered: 'Yes, why not?' So I said to her: 'Well, then, come along. My car is here.' "Lempicka seems to have been fully satisfied with her model, since she had her continue the sittings for over a year: for " The Pink Tunic" (B.84) in particular, but apparently she can also be recognized in "The Dream" (B.85), which is captioned "Rafaëla against a Green Background" in an article by Arsène Alexandre ("Tamara de Lempicka", La Renaissance de l'art français et des industries de luxe, July, 1929)

Auctions

15/05/1985 - NEW YORK. Sotheby's "5325-Soliel”, # 355 $ 220 000

B.088

circa1927

Oil on canvas

T.DE LEMPICKA. (top left)

(Nu couché au livre)

Books are a frequent theme in this artist's oeuvre; their presence often has to do with melancholy.

Collections

1930 - Purchased directly by Mr. Fernand Vallon - France

Exhibitions

1928 - Salon des Tuileries 1928, Paris, France

History

Dr. Fernand VALLON, Client: A physician and art collector, Fernand Vallon was also the author of a book entitled Au Louvre avec Delacroix (Editions Arthaud, 1930), with a preface by the French art historian Elie Faure. Again in 1930, he contributed a lovely essay on Lempicka to Art et Médecine, earning himself the very beautiful "Reclining Nude with Book".

B.089

1927

Oil on wood panel

T.DE LEMPICKA. (top right)

(L'écharpe orange)

This is the second cover Lempicka provided for the German fashion magazine "Die Dame". The woman couple combines the face of Irene (cf. "Irene and Her Sister", B.57) with, to the right, that of the model whose hypnotic gaze would reappear in the artist's later "The Bride" (B.112).

Collections

1928 - Purchased directly by Baron Raoul de Kuf - Hungaria
1990 - Private collection - U.S.A.

Exhibitions

1928 - Salon des Tuileries 1928, Paris, France
1972 - Galerie du Luxembourg, "Tamara de Lempicka de 1925 à 1935", Paris, France
1981 - Seibu, "Tamara de Lempicka", Tokyo-Osaka, Japan
1981 - Walter Haas: Art Déco, le Style Moderne, Zürich, Switzerland

Auctions

18/05/1990 - NEW YORK. Sotheby's “6020-Miracolo”, # 401 $ 180 000

B.090

1927

Oil on canvas on cardboard

(Une rose sur une lettre)

A rose similar to the one adorning the "telephone operator's" (B.133) buttonhole.

Collections

1927 - Unknown collection

B.091

circa1927

Oil on canvas on cardboard

T.DE LEMPICKA. (bottom right)

(Bouquet de violettes)

An interestingly de-centered composition.

Collections

1985 - Barry Friedman Ltd. - U.S.A.
1988 - Private collection - Germany

Auctions

25/11/1988 - MÜNCHEN. Villa Grisebach Auktionen, # 125 $ 12 470
27/06/1986 - LONDON. Christie's “Mattie-3436”, # 460 $ 4 800

B.092

circa1927

Oil on canvas

(Bouquet de chardons au livre ouvert)

Collections

1990 - Private collection - France

Auctions

05/12/1990 - PARIS. Millon, Robert, # 47 $ 4 800

B.093

circa1927

Oil on wood panel

DE LEMPICKA. (top right)

(La chemise rose I)

If this languorous woman in love, loosely clad in a transparent overall, had not tilted her head at the right angle, she might have ocirca tepped the limits of the painting's format. This is, of course, only a Mannerist device, but here it has been applied with utmost mastery.

Collections

1975 - Private collection - Switzerland
1980 - Mathysen-Gerst - U.S.A.
1984 - Private collection - U.S.A.
1995 - Private collection - U.S.A.

Exhibitions

1994 - Accademia di Francia (Villa Medici), "Tamara de Lempicka/ Tra eleganza e trasgressione", Rome, Italy

B.094

1928

Oil on canvas

(Les confidences *)

Les confidences [Sharing Secrets]1928-1929 is handwritten on the back of this painting, together with a label printed in red and reading "1929 problemi dell'arte attuale". This show may have taken place at the Milan Bottega di Poesia gallery (according to Lela Titonel). As for Rosine Buhler, she thinks she recognizes the silk cloth print seen in the foreground as a model belonging to the Ducharne line.

Collections

1990 - Galleria Campo dei Fiori - Italy

Exhibitions

1992 - Accademia Valentino, "La seduzione da Boucher a Warhol", Rome, Italy
1994 - Accademia di Francia (Villa Medici), "Tamara de Lempicka/ Tra eleganza e trasgressione", Rome, Italy
1996 - Galleria Campo dei Fiori, "Da Balla a De Lempicka", Rome, Italy
1997 - Hiroshima Museum of Arts. Tamara de Lempicka, Tokyo-Hiroshima, Japan

Auctions

10/04/1990 - MILANO. Finarte . ASTA 734, # 311 $ 320 600

B.095

1928

Oil on canvas

T.DE LEMPICKA. (bottom left); LACTEOL(top right)

(Portrait d'Arlette Boucard *)

Here the artist has portrayed the daughter of her wealthy client, the physician Pierre Boucard. In the background, we see Boucard's boat (baptized "Lactéol", the name of the medication that made his fortune) at anchor in the port, in a very faithful reflection of the "dolce vita" enjoyed by the upper classes in the late twenties.

Collections

1928 - Purchased directly by Dr. Pierre Boucard - France
1980 - Walter Haas Gallery - Switzerland
1982 - Barry Friedman Ltd. - U.S.A.
1983 - Private collection - U.S.A.

Exhibitions

1928 - Salon d'Automne 1928, Paris, France
1972 - Galerie du Luxembourg, "Tamara de Lempicka de 1925 à 1935", Paris, France
1981 - Seibu, "Tamara de Lempicka", Tokyo-Osaka, Japan
1981 - Walter Haas: Art Déco, le Style Moderne, Zürich, Switzerland

History

The poetry of PORTS, Biography, Psychology: In a delightful article published in the 16 June 1961 edition of Aux Ecoutes, the critic Michel Georges-Michel gave an account of his before-the-war encounter with Lempicka in a sailor bar in Cannes (see Bibliography Georges-Michel Michel, art. cit.). The shady and nostalgic poetry of ports was greatly appreciated in the realist literature and movies of this era. André Lhote, too, enjoyed depicting it.
1928, Chronology: Tamara and Tadeusz were divorced (against the artist's wishes) and the portrait she had begun to paint of her husband (cat.38) was never finished. She made the acquaintance of Dr Pierre Boucard, who commissioned several portraits. Working increasingly hard, she began to enjoy financial success, spending long periods in Cannes.
Doctor BOUCARD, Client: Second only to Baron Kuffner, the physician Pierre Boucard - inventor of the famous "Lactéol" pill - was an enthusiastic collector of Lempicka's works. He was, moreover, a friend of the photographer Jacques-Henri Lartigue as well, often appearing in the latter's photos of various joyous occasions at the French coastal resort of Deauville. In addition to his own portrait, his wife's, and his daughter's, this avid collector also owned "The Slave" (B.119), and "Myrto" (B.118), although the latter fell victim to a German pillager at the war's end (as noted by Lempicka in her album).
Jacques-Henri LARTIGUE, Photographer: A photographer who chronicled happiness and the carefree life: his casual and witty snapshots have been the subject of numerous publications. Lartigue's portrait of the physician Pierre Boucard at his microscope may have served as inspiration to Lempicka. Lartigue also did several portraits of the lovely Arlette Boucard, his friend's daughter.

B.096

1928

Oil on wood panel

T.DE LEMPICKA. (top right)

(En plein été *)

To a great extent, this opulent woman resembles "la belle Rafaëla" (whose face we see in "The Dream", B.85). The panel painting itself appeared on the cover of the German fashion magazine "Die Dame" in August 1928.

Collections

1928 - Purchased directly by Dr. Pierre Boucard - France
1978 - Private collection - France
1994 - Private collection - U.S.A.

Exhibitions

1972 - Galerie du Luxembourg, "Tamara de Lempicka de 1925 à 1935" Paris, France
1981 - Seibu, "Tamara de Lempicka", Tokyo-Osaka, Japan

History

La belle RAFAELA, Social connexion: In the biography she devoted to her mother, Lizette de Lempicka-Foxhall informs us that "la belle" Rafaëla apparently approached Lempicka during one of the latter's daily morning walks in the Bois de Boulogne. The young woman, presented to us as a nymphomaniac, but not necessarily venal, is said to have struck Lempicka by her beauty ""...Never had I seen a more beautiful woman - enormous black eyes, a splendid body. I stopped her and asked: 'Miss, I am a painter and I would like you to come sit for me. Would you accept?' She answered: 'Yes, why not?'So I said to her: 'Well, then, come along. My car is here.' "Lempicka seems to have been fully satisfied with her model, since she had her continue the sittings for over a year: for " The Pink Tunic" (B.84) in particular, but apparently she can also be recognized in "The Dream" (B.85), which is captioned "Rafaëla against a Green Background" in an article by Arsène Alexandre ("Tamara de Lempicka", La Renaissance de l'art français et des industries de luxe, July, 1929)

B.097

1928

Oil on plywood

(Femme au gant vert )

The slightly exaggerated stance brings to mind fashion show models.

Collections

1982 - Barry Friedman Ltd. - U.S.A.
1983 - Private collection - U.S.A.

Exhibitions

1972 - Galerie du Luxembourg, "Tamara de Lempicka de 1925 à 1935", Paris, France
1981 - Seibu, "Tamara de Lempicka", Tokyo-Osaka, Japan
1981 - Walter Haas: Art Déco, le Style Moderne, Zürich, Switzerland
1984 - Hollywood American Legion Post, "Tamara", Los Angeles, United States
1994 - Accademia di Francia (Villa Medici), "Tamara de Lempicka/ Tra eleganza e trasgressione", Rome, Italy

B.098

circa1928

Oil on canvas

T.DE LEMPICKA. (artist's stamp bottom right)

(Autoportrait inachevé)

In this self-portrait, the artist's hairdo corresponds with the photo Thérèse Bonney did of her while she was painting the portrait of Tadeusz in her studio. We can hence date it to around 1928.

Collections

1978 - Private collection - U.S.A.
1987 - Private collection - U.S.A.

Exhibitions

1981 - Seibu, "Tamara de Lempicka", Tokyo-Osaka, Japan
1984 - Hollywood American Legion Post, "Tamara", Los Angeles, United States

History

Images of TAMARA, Biography, Psychology: Never had an artist been so preoccupied with her own image as Lempicka: she herself did many self-portraits, and, more especially, spent hours to sitting for photographers, where she would take on the attitude of a professional model. Her long stay in Hollywood, and all her efforts to penetrate the movie world, suggest that she longed to be in the "spotlight". Her "screen test" - with the newsreel producers Pathé in 1932 - shows a supremely self-assured image of her coming down the staircase of her rue Méchain studio, flourishing a seemingly endless cigarette-holder.
1928, Chronology: Tamara and Tadeusz were divorced (against the artist's wishes) and the portrait she had begun to paint of her husband (cat.38) was never finished. She made the acquaintance of Dr Pierre Boucard, who commissioned several portraits. Working increasingly hard, she began to enjoy financial success, spending long periods in Cannes.

Auctions

12/11/1987 - NEW YORK. Sotheby's “5633- Tzanck”, # 378 $ 50 000

B.099

1928

Oil on wood panel

T.DE LEMPICKA. (top left)

(Portrait de Romana de la Salle de profil)

Lempicka kept up on what was going on in photography during her lifetime. She got to know several photographers - Jacques-Henri Lartigue, Thérèse Bonney, d'Ora, Maywald, and still more - and, through her contact with them, in turn became fascinated with the lighting effects in black-and-white photos.

Collections

1928 - Unknown collection -

Exhibitions

1930 - Galerie Colette Weil 1930, "Tamara de Lempicka", Paris, France

History

Duchess DE LA SALLE, Portrait retained by Lempicka: Born in Athens in 1887, with Marika as her first name, the duchess owes her title to her marriage, in 1905, to Duke de la Salle de Rochemaure. This marriage was not to the liking of the family and thus ended in divorce, earning the duchess a sizeable alimony. Done up tightly in her riding attire, smoking a pipe or a cigar, the duchess - who continued to pride herself over her title - was most lavish with her newfound fortune, much of which she allotted to several artists encountered on social occasions (such as the English woman artist Marlow Moss). By the thirties, once her source of income had run dry, she withdrew, with her daughter Romana, to an Alpine village where she lived the simple life until her death in 1973. As can be seen in the panoramic view by Jacques-Henri Lartigue (see "Jacques-Henri LARTIGUE"), the large portrait of the duchess in her riding boots hung to the right of the bed in Lempicka's bedroom in her flat on rue Guy de Maupassant.

B.100

1928

Oil on canvas

(Portrait de Romana de la Salle )

A photo by Marc Vaux shows the first stage of this painting, where Romana is depicted with a harder face. In the final circa ion, she tilts her head slightly, as is generally the case in Lempicka's portraits of women, who thus are made to seem quite aristocratic and reserved.

Collections

1979 - Barry Friedman Ltd. - U.S.A.
1980 - Private collection - Germany

Exhibitions

1929 - Poznan, "International Exhibition of Arts", Poznan, Poland
1972 - Galerie du Luxembourg, "Tamara de Lempicka de 1925 à 1935", Paris, France
1989 - Museo Nacional de Arte, "Tamara de Lempicka", Mexico, Mexico
1994 - Accademia di Francia (Villa Medici), "Tamara de Lempicka/ Tra eleganza e trasgressione", Rome, Italy

History

Duchess DE LA SALLE, Portrait retained by Lempicka: Born in Athens in 1887, with Marika as her first name, the duchess owes her title to her marriage, in 1905, to Duke de la Salle de Rochemaure. This marriage was not to the liking of the family and thus ended in divorce, earning the duchess a sizeable alimony. Done up tightly in her riding attire, smoking a pipe or a cigar, the duchess - who continued to pride herself over her title - was most lavish with her newfound fortune, much of which she allotted to several artists encountered on social occasions (such as the English woman artist Marlow Moss). By the thirties, once her source of income had run dry, she withdrew, with her daughter Romana, to an Alpine village where she lived the simple life until her death in 1973. As can be seen in the panoramic view by Jacques-Henri Lartigue (see "Jacques-Henri LARTIGUE"), the large portrait of the duchess in her riding boots hung to the right of the bed in Lempicka's bedroom in her flat on rue Guy de Maupassant.

B.101

circa1928

Oil on canvas

T.DE LEMPICKA. (artist's stamp bottom right)

(Portrait d'une jeune femme)

Collections

1972 - Galerie du Luxembourg - France
1998 - Private collection -

B.102

1928

Oil on canvas

LEMPICKA. (bottom right)

(La communiante *)

The medal Lempicka won at the 1929 International Exhibition of Poznan with her first openly religious painting - this portrait of Kizette - meant a great deal to the artist. Appearing for the first time as well, the white dove would reoccur regularly in her oeuvre, just as would the arums boasting immaculate corollas.

Collections

1976 - Musée National d'Art Moderne - Paris
1994 - Musée des Beaux-Arts de Roubaix - France

Exhibitions

1928 - Salon d'Automne 1928, Paris, France
1929 - Poznan, "International Exhibition of Arts", Poznan, Poland
1929 - "Cercle des Artistes Polonais à Paris", Paris, France
1930 - Galerie Colette Weil 1930, "Tamara de Lempicka", Paris, France
1961 - Galerie Ror-Volmar, "T. de Lempicka, œuvres récentes et anciennes, 1930-1960", Paris, France
1994 - Accademia di Francia (Villa Medici), "Tamara de Lempicka/ Tra eleganza e trasgressione" Rome, Italy
1997 - Hiroshima Museum of Arts. Tamara de Lempicka, Tokyo-Hiroshima, Japan

History

The symbol of DOVE, Biography, Psychology: The dove first appears in Lempicka's portrait of her daughter as "The Communicant" (B.102); it recurs in several works. As the symbol of purity and peace, Aphrodite's bird is also depicted as the messenger of desire (see "Nude with Dove" [B.104] and "Myrto [B.118]). When dead, it of course means that the love message was not heard ("Woman with Dove", B.153).
The RELIGIOUS FEELING, Biography, Psychology: Religious feeling, intrinsic to Tamara de Lempicka's nature, began showing through in her oeuvre with works such as "Mother and Child" (B.12), although, admittedly, this work in particular was created under the direct influence of Maurice Denis. The moral crisis undergone by the artist from 1934 to 1936 exacerbated this feeling. And, finally, at the end of her life, Lempicka commended her soul to God through her numerous replicas of Madonna and St. Anthony (which, moreover, stood side to side with other copies of the sulfurous Rafaëla).
Her Daughter KIZETTE, Family or close friend: Lempicka gave birth to her daughter at a very young age. Quite early on, she used Kizette as a model, painting her through a marvelling eye. The five large-scale portraits she did of Kizette, between 1923 and 1933, remain among the most noteworthy of her artistic accomplishments. Baroness de Lempicka-Foxhall, as Kizette has now become, gathered together her recollections and, with the help of Charles Phillips, published them in the form of a biography in 1987: Passion by Design, The Art and Times of Tamara de Lempicka, op.cit.

B.103

circa1928

Oil on canvas

DE LEMPICKA. (bottom right)

(Les colombes )

Lempicka was sensitive to the symbolism of doves as message-bearers for Aphrodite.

Collections

1928 - Unknown collection -

History

The symbol of DOVE, Biography, Psychology: The dove first appears in Lempicka's portrait of her daughter as "The Communicant" (B.102); it recurs in several works. As the symbol of purity and peace, Aphrodite's bird is also depicted as the messenger of desire (see "Nude with Dove" [B.104] and "Myrto [B.118]). When dead, it of course means that the love message was not heard ("Woman with Dove", B.153).

B.104

1928

Oil on canvas

(Nu à la colombe *)

Light and shadow seek out and sculpt the torso and belly of this somewhat untamed model, who shows a suggestion of fright upon the arrival of the messenger dove.

Collections

1928 - Purchased directly by Baron Raoul de Kuf - Hungaria
1986 - Private collection - U.S.A.

Exhibitions

1928 - Salon des Indépendants 1928, Paris, France

History

The symbol of DOVE, Biography, Psychology: The dove first appears in Lempicka's portrait of her daughter as "The Communicant" (B.102); it recurs in several works. As the symbol of purity and peace, Aphrodite's bird is also depicted as the messenger of desire (see "Nude with Dove" [B.104] and "Myrto [B.118]). When dead, it of course means that the love message was not heard ("Woman with Dove", B.153).

Auctions

19/11/1986 - NEW YORK. Sotheby's “ 5513-Roger”, # 154 $ 190 000

B.105

1928

Oil on wood panel

LEMPICKA. (bottom right)

(La chemise rose * II)

Marc Vaux's photo shows this portrait at its first stage, where the background netting in particular, once the same as in "Pink Rose I" (B.93), was modified.

Collections

1975 - Purchased directly by Mr. De Montaut - France
1987 - Private collection - France

Exhibitions

1981 - Seibu, "Tamara de Lempicka", Tokyo-Osaka, Japan

Auctions

19/06/1987 - PARIS. Poulain, Le Fur, # 91 $ 93 350

B.106

1928

Oil on wood panel

LEMPICKA (bottom right)

(Maternité *)

A brush drawing on the back of the panel shows the same subject striking a different pose. The gestural expressivity of the hands is particularly noticeable in this composition.

Collections

1928 - Purchased directly by Baron Raoul de Kuf - Hungaria
1987 - Private collection - Great Britain

Exhibitions

1931 - Galerie Colette Weil 1931, "Tamara de Lempicka", Paris, France
1972 - Galerie du Luxembourg, "Tamara de Lempicka de 1925 à 1935", Paris, France
1997 - Hiroshima Museum of Arts. Tamara de Lempicka, Tokyo-Hiroshima, Japan

B.107

1928

Oil on canvas

(Portrait d'homme *)

Wearing an elegant black overcoat comfortably buttoned over a scarf of pure white, and with his opera hat in one hand, Count Lempitzki is ready to go out on the town. It is nighttime outside. The cold buildings in the background seem to underscore the determined and conquering step of someone impatient to be off. In his haste, the Count refused to let the artist finish his left hand; never again would he get a chance to pose for the artist (cf. Lempitzki in Historical Background).

Collections

1976 - Musée National d'Art Moderne - Paris

Exhibitions

1980 - Palazzo Reale, "L'Altra Metà dell'Avanguardia 1910-1940", Milan, Italy
1994 - Accademia di Francia (Villa Medici), "Tamara de Lempicka/ Tra eleganza e trasgressione", Rome, Italy
1997 - Hiroshima Museum of Arts. Tamara de Lempicka, Tokyo-Hiroshima, Japan

History

1928, Chronology: Tamara and Tadeusz were divorced (against the artist's wishes) and the portrait she had begun to paint of her husband (cat.38) was never finished. She made the acquaintance of Dr Pierre Boucard, who commissioned several portraits. Working increasingly hard, she began to enjoy financial success, spending long periods in Cannes.
Tadeusz LEMPITZKI, Family or close friend: In 1916, in Petrograd (St. Petersburg), Tamara Gorska married Count Tadeusz Lempitzki (or Lempicki, since the nobiliary particle was added later, in France). After jointly emigrating to France with their daughter Kizette, the couple divorced in 1928.

B.108

1928

Oil on canvas

T.DE LEMPICKA. (bottom left)

(Portrait du Docteur Boucard *)

Doctor Boucard was surely a great man of science, as we can easily surmise from the accessories he handles here. The fine pearl on his tie, the dainty mustache, and the casually turned up collar of his doctor's smock show that he also was a man of the world. Lempicka's artistic synthesis was just as successful as the results contained in his test tube!

Collections

1929 - Purchased directly by Dr. Pierre Boucard - France
1985 - Private collection - Switzerland

Exhibitions

1929 - Salon des Indépendants 1929, Paris, France
1929 - Carnegie Institute 1929, "28th International Exhibition of Paintings", Pittsburgh, United States
1931 - Galerie Colette Weil 1931, "Tamara de Lempicka", Paris, France
1961 - Galerie Ror-Volmar, "T. de Lempicka, œuvres récentes et anciennes, 1930-1960", Paris, France
1972 - Galerie du Luxembourg, "Tamara de Lempicka de 1925 à 1935", Paris, France
1994 - Accademia di Francia (Villa Medici), "Tamara de Lempicka/ Tra eleganza e trasgressione", Rome, Italy

History

1928, Chronology: Tamara and Tadeusz were divorced (against the artist's wishes) and the portrait she had begun to paint of her husband (cat.38) was never finished. She made the acquaintance of Dr Pierre Boucard, who commissioned several portraits. Working increasingly hard, she began to enjoy financial success, spending long periods in Cannes.
Doctor BOUCARD, Client: Second only to Baron Kuffner, the physician Pierre Boucard - inventor of the famous "Lactéol" pill - was an enthusiastic collector of Lempicka's works. He was, moreover, a friend of the photographer Jacques-Henri Lartigue as well, often appearing in the latter's photos of various joyous occasions at the French coastal resort of Deauville. In addition to his own portrait, his wife's, and his daughter's, this avid collector also owned "The Slave" (B.119), and "Myrto" (B.118), although the latter fell victim to a German pillager at the war's end (as noted by Lempicka in her album).
Jacques-Henri LARTIGUE, Photographer: A photographer who chronicled happiness and the carefree life: his casual and witty snapshots have been the subject of numerous publications. Lartigue's portrait of the physician Pierre Boucard at his microscope may have served as inspiration to Lempicka. Lartigue also did several portraits of the lovely Arlette Boucard, his friend's daughter.

Auctions

14/11/1985 - NEW YORK. Sotheby's "5391-Rivoli”, # 278 $ 255 000

B.109

1928

Oil on canvas

(Portrait du comte de Fürstenberg-Herdringen *)

With his pale yellow eyes, and wearing a severe beret, this aristocrat seems far from easygoing. Giancarlo Marmori finds a resemblance with the Mephisto of Klaus Mann's Berlin. The portrait's tight cropping accentuates the impression of contained energy that the figure seems to breathe out.

Collections

1972 - Galerie du Luxembourg - France
1975 - Private collection - France
1994 - Barry Friedman Ltd. - U.S.A.
1995 - Private collection - U.S.A.

Exhibitions

1972 - Galerie du Luxembourg, "Tamara de Lempicka de 1925 à 1935", Paris, France

History

1928, Chronology: Tamara and Tadeusz were divorced (against the artist's wishes) and the portrait she had begun to paint of her husband (cat.38) was never finished. She made the acquaintance of Dr Pierre Boucard, who commissioned several portraits. Working increasingly hard, she began to enjoy financial success, spending long periods in Cannes.

Auctions

21/06/1994 - PARIS. Briest. Drouot Montaigne, # 57 $ 67 300

B.110

circa1928

Oil on canvas

DE LEMPICKA. (bottom left)

(Vieillard)

The portrait of an old man who sports a silky white beard and who, perhaps, is blind. The date for this work was listed by Lempicka, in her - not always altogether reliable - chronological album, as 1928.

Collections

1928 - Unknown collection

Exhibitions

1936 - Salon des Femmes Artistes Modernes 1936, FAM, Paris, France
1937 - Salon d'Automne 1937, Paris, France

B.111

1928

Oil on wood panel

T.DE LEMPICKA. (bottom left)

(Portrait du baron Kuffner )

Lempicka painted the portraits of Tadeusz Lempitzki, who made her a countess, and of Raoul Kuffner who, later, would make her a baroness, during the same year. Since then, the two have become neighbors by hanging together at the Musée National d'Art Moderne in Paris. This panel is dated "Dec. 1928" in Lempicka's album.

Collections

1976 - Musée National d'Art Moderne - Paris

History

1928, Chronology: Tamara and Tadeusz were divorced (against the artist's wishes) and the portrait she had begun to paint of her husband (cat.38) was never finished. She made the acquaintance of Dr Pierre Boucard, who commissioned several portraits. Working increasingly hard, she began to enjoy financial success, spending long periods in Cannes.
Baron KUFFNER, Family or close friend: Baron Raoul Kuffner de Dioszegh, descended from a wealthy family of Hungarian brewers and breeders, received his title of nobility by the hand of Emperor Francis-Joseph. This great landowner of the Austro-Hungarian Empire had the foresight to part with his property in Europe before emigrating to the United States in 1939. He married Lempicka, in Switzerland, in 1933, "six years after having met her in Paris" (The Billings Gazette, 5 September 1946). The baron's father, Karl, had assembled - in a specially designed wing of his château in Dioszegh - a splendid collection of Old Master paintings, open to his fellow citizens. The collection landed in France between 1930 and 1938, and travelled on to New York in 1940, where it became the object of a prestigious auction at Parke-Bernett's on 18 November 1948. Baron Kuffner died on November 3, 1961, on his return trip from Europe to New York, on the SS Liberté. He is the author of a book pleading in favor of free enterprise: Planomania-Capitalism makes Sense (Richard R. Smith Publishers).

B.112

1928

Oil on wood panel

DE LEMPICKA. (bottom right)

(La mariée)

Lempicka painted this bride during the year of her own divorce, which may explain the fierce expression on the beautiful newlywed's face. Lempicka's album specifies "Dec. 28".

Collections

1929 - Purchased directly by Mr. John Cole - U.S.A.

B.113

1928/1929

Oil on canvas

(Nana de Herrera *)

Nana de Herrera was a contagiously energetic person, a quality that appealed to artists. It is her silhouette that graces the "Gitanes" cigarette boxes, ever since that famous sketch was created by Max Ponty. In her album, Lempicka specifies the date of execution: "Nov. 4 - Feb. 27, 1929".

Collections

1930 - Purchased by Baron Kuffner for Nana de H - France
1970 - Galerie du Luxembourg - France
1979 - Barry Friedman Ltd. - U.S.A.
1980 - Victor Arwas Gallery - Great Britain
1985 - Private collection - U.S.A.

Exhibitions

1929 - "Cercle des Artistes Polonais à Paris", Paris, France
1930 - Galerie Colette Weil 1930, "Tamara de Lempicka", Paris, France
1930 - Salon des Tuileries 1930, Paris, France
1972 - Galerie du Luxembourg, "Tamara de Lempicka de 1925 à 1935", Paris, France
1981 - Seibu, "Tamara de Lempicka", Tokyo-Osaka, Japan

History

Nana DE HERRERA, Social connexion: Nana de Herrera, a Spanish dancer, was Baron Kuffner's girlfriend. The Baron, in turn, was an enthusiastic collector of Lempicka's paintings, so it was of course the latter whom he commissioned to do a portrait of Nana. The portrait was so successful it made the arts enthusiast realize that, in the last analysis, he preferred the scent of turpentine to the clicking of castanets. his lovely portrait remained in the hands of Lempicka's unfortunate rival, who sold it in 1970.

Auctions

14/11/1985 - NEW YORK. Sotheby's "5391-Rivoli", # 279 $ 105 000

B.114

1929

Oil on wood panel

T.DE LEMPICKA. (top right)

(Le turban vert *)

As its title indicates, this painting radiates an intensely green color. It comes not only from the turban, but from the reflections illuminating the bottom half of the faces, which one could easily imagine being produced by a crystal ball beyond the picture frame. The hypnotic gaze that peers out at us enhances this mediumistic atmosphere.

Collections

1929 - Purchased directly by Mr. Parijevski - France
1970 - Private collection - France
1975 - Private collection - France
1988 - Private collection - U.S.A.

Exhibitions

1930 - Salon des Indépendants 1930, Paris, France
1981 - Seibu, "Tamara de Lempicka", Tokyo-Osaka, Japan
1981 - Galerie Françoise Blondel & Yves Plantin, "Tamara de Lempicka", Paris, France

Auctions

12/11/1988 - NEW YORK. Sotheby's “5777-Merma”, # 405 $ 200 000

B.115

1929

Oil on wood panel

TjL (bottom center)

(Mon portrait *)

In its issue of October 3rd, 1928, the very widely read weekly "Vu" published a cover picture by Kertèsz, featuring a young lady at the wheel of a sports car. The picture caption specified that the model's sports outfit, her gloves and her leather cap, were all from Hermès. Lempicka wears exactly the same accessories in her self-portrait, which was obviously inspired by the Kertèsz photo.

Collections

1980 - Private collection - Switzerland

Exhibitions

1972 - Galerie du Luxembourg, "Tamara de Lempicka de 1925 à 1935", Paris, France
1976 - Musée des Arts Décoratifs, "Paris 1925", Paris, France
1981 - Seibu, "Tamara de Lempicka", Tokyo-Osaka, Japan
1994 - Accademia di Francia (Villa Medici), "Tamara de Lempicka/ Tra eleganza e trasgressione", Rome, Italy
1997 - Hiroshima Museum of Arts. Tamara de Lempicka, Tokyo-Hiroshima, Japan

History

Lempicka's BUGATTI,Biography, Psychology: The green Bugatti in the famous "Self-portrait" was, in fact, a Renault. Moreover, it was yellow, if we are to believe the recollections of her daughter. Be that as it may, Lempicka was irresistibly seductive at its wheel, so much so that she caught the eye of the woman editor of a major German fashion magazine, Die Dame. This fruitful encounter subsequently provided Lempicka with opportunities to be featured on many cocirca of the magazine, greatly contributing to the spread of her reputation. (according to Passion by Design, The Art and Times of Tamara de Lempicka, op.cit.)
Images of TAMARA, Biography, Psychology: Never had an artist been so preoccupied with her own image as Lempicka: she herself did many self-portraits, and, more especially, spent hours to sitting for photographers, where she would take on the attitude of a professional model. Her long stay in Hollywood, and all her efforts to penetrate the movie world, suggest that she longed to be in the "spotlight". Her "screen test" - with the newsreel producers Pathé in 1932 - shows a supremely self-assured image of her coming down the staircase of her rue Méchain studio, flourishing a seemingly endless cigarette-holder.
1928, Chronology: Tamara and Tadeusz were divorced (against the artist's wishes) and the portrait she had begun to paint of her husband (cat.38) was never finished. She made the acquaintance of Dr Pierre Boucard, who commissioned several portraits. Working increasingly hard, she began to enjoy financial success, spending long periods in Cannes.

B.116

1929

Oil on wood panel

LEMPICKA. (top right)

(Saint Moritz *)

It might have been new, yet somewhat trite, to paint a portrait of a modern young lady vacationing at the Alpine resort St. Moritz. But the proud athletic figure portrayed here gazes out at the heavens, with a look that seems to have captured a procession of stadium gods.

Collections

1929 - Purchased directly by Baron Raoul de Kuf - Hungaria
1976 - Musée des Beaux-Arts d'Orléans (Don de l - France

Exhibitions

1976 - Musée du Louvre, "Les nouvelles acquisitions du Musée d'Orléans", Paris, France
1994 - Accademia di Francia (Villa Medici), "Tamara de Lempicka/ Tra eleganza e trasgressione", Rome, Italy
1997 - Hiroshima Museum of Arts. Tamara de Lempicka, Tokyo-Hiroshima, Japan

B.117

1929

Oil on canvas

DE LEMPICKA. /29 PARIS (bottom right)

(La Musicienne *)

A synthesis of two seemingly contradictory aesthetic viewpoints is clearly visible here. The first takes inspiration from the Italian Renaissance, in the form of an almost seraphic figure, who reads off a few notes of music one by one with melancholic fervor. The second is contemporary, and is conveyed by the background presence of a futurist metropolis. According to the Dictionnaire des Symboles (Robert Laffont, Paris), the color blue is the most deeply symbolic and immaterial of colors: "Movements and sounds, as well as forms, disappear into blue, are drowned by it, fade into it like a bird into the sky...To enter into [the color] blue is a little like Alice in Wonderland, when she crossed over into the other side of the mirror."

Collections

1980 - Private collection - U.S.A.
1982 - Barry Friedman Ltd. - U.S.A.

Exhibitions

1941 - Julien Levy Gallery, "Tamara de Lempicka / (Baroness de Kuffner)", New-York, United States
1961 - Galerie Ror-Volmar, "T. de Lempicka, œuvres récentes et anciennes, 1930-1960", Paris, France
1972 - Galerie du Luxembourg, "Tamara de Lempicka de 1925 à 1935", Paris, France
1981 - Seibu, "Tamara de Lempicka", Tokyo-Osaka, Japan
1992 - The National Museum of Women in the Art, "Polish Women Artists and Avant-Garde/Voices of Freedom", Washington, United States
1994 - Accademia di Francia (Villa Medici), "Tamara de Lempicka/ Tra eleganza e trasgressione", Rome, Italy
1996 - Barry Friedman Ltd. "Tamara de Lempicka", New-York, United States

History

Ira PERROT, Family or close friend: Until 1939, Ira Perrot and Lempicka were close friends. Besides sitting for her 1930 portrait ("Portrait of Ira Perrot" [B.143]), most probably Perrot was also the model for "Woman in the Black Dress" (B.31) and "Her Sadness" (B.30). The latter work is listed in Kizette de Lempicka-Foxhall's book as "Portrait of Mrs. P."

B.118

1929

Oil on canvas

(Myrto *)

Most probably, it was with this painting that Lempicka captivated the physician Boucard, who immediately acquired it for his collection. It contains the basic luminist formulas invented by this artist, which represent her originality. The face of a sleeping woman in the background resembles photos of Lempicka at the time. During World War II, a member of the German occupation troops in France was so attracted by the work's power of seduction that he could not resist snatching it up; to date (1998), it has never resurfaced.

Collections

1930 - Purchased directly by Dr. Pierre Boucard - France
1943 - Stolen painting - Germany

Exhibitions

1929 - Salon d'Automne 1929, Paris, France
1931 - Galerie Colette Weil 1931, "Tamara de Lempicka", Paris, France

History

The symbol of DOVE, Biography, Psychology: The dove first appears in Lempicka's portrait of her daughter as "The Communicant" (B.102); it recurs in several works. As the symbol of purity and peace, Aphrodite's bird is also depicted as the messenger of desire (see "Nude with Dove" [B.104] and "Myrto [B.118]). When dead, it of course means that the love message was not heard ("Woman with Dove", B.153).
Doctor BOUCARD, Client: Second only to Baron Kuffner, the physician Pierre Boucard - inventor of the famous "Lactéol" pill - was an enthusiastic collector of Lempicka's works. He was, moreover, a friend of the photographer Jacques-Henri Lartigue as well, often appearing in the latter's photos of various joyous occasions at the French coastal resort of Deauville. In addition to his own portrait, his wife's, and his daughter's, this avid collector also owned "The Slave" (B.119), and "Myrto" (B.118), although the latter fell victim to a German pillager at the war's end (as noted by Lempicka in her album).

B.119

1929

Oil on canvas

T.DE LEMPICKA. (top right)

(L'esclave *)

Judging from the background to this beautiful and promising chained "slave", it is hard to believe that a sultan was responsible for her rapt. Whose prisoner might she then be, metaphorically speaking? Upon examination of a photo of Lempicka, Gioia Mori came up with an interesting suggestion with respect to - what we are made to believe - is a self-portrait: that it represents the muted complaint of a wife fettered by marriage chains, from which she awaits deliverance.

Collections

1929 - Purchased directly by Dr. Pierre Boucard - France
1987 - Private collection - U.S.A.

Exhibitions

1929 - Salon des Tuileries 1929, Paris, France
1930 - Galerie Colette Weil 1930, "Tamara de Lempicka", Paris, France
1972 - Galerie du Luxembourg, "Tamara de Lempicka de 1925 à 1935", Paris, France
1981 - Walter Haas: Art Déco, le Style Moderne, Zürich, Switzerland

History

Images of TAMARA, Biography, Psychology: Never had an artist been so preoccupied with her own image as Lempicka: she herself did many self-portraits, and, more especially, spent hours to sitting for photographers, where she would take on the attitude of a professional model. Her long stay in Hollywood, and all her efforts to penetrate the movie world, suggest that she longed to be in the "spotlight". Her "screen test" - with the newsreel producers Pathé in 1932 - shows a supremely self-assured image of her coming down the staircase of her rue Méchain studio, flourishing a seemingly endless cigarette-holder.
Doctor BOUCARD, Client: Second only to Baron Kuffner, the physician Pierre Boucard - inventor of the famous "Lactéol" pill - was an enthusiastic collector of Lempicka's works. He was, moreover, a friend of the photographer Jacques-Henri Lartigue as well, often appearing in the latter's photos of various joyous occasions at the French coastal resort of Deauville. In addition to his own portrait, his wife's, and his daughter's, this avid collector also owned "The Slave" (B.119), and "Myrto" (B.118), although the latter fell victim to a German pillager at the war's end (as noted by Lempicka in her album).

Auctions

12/05/1987 - NEW YORK. Sotheby's “5574-Surprise”, # 334 $ 510 000

B.120

1929

Oil on canvas

T.DE LEMPICKA. (artist's stamp bottom right)

(Femmes au bain)

This ambitious painting, which in some ways brings to mind "Rhythm", was only partially finished. Its symbolist theme is reminiscent of the Pre-Raphaelites.

Collections

1980 - Private collection - Great Britain
1982 - Barry Friedman Ltd. - U.S.A.
1990 - Private collection - U.S.A.

Exhibitions

1981 - Seibu, "Tamara de Lempicka", Tokyo-Osaka, Japan
1994 - Accademia di Francia (Villa Medici), "Tamara de Lempicka/ Tra eleganza e trasgressione", Rome, Italy

History

The symbol of DOVE, Biography, Psychology: The dove first appears in Lempicka's portrait of her daughter as "The Communicant" (B.102); it recurs in several works. As the symbol of purity and peace, Aphrodite's bird is also depicted as the messenger of desire (see "Nude with Dove" [B.104] and "Myrto [B.118]). When dead, it of course means that the love message was not heard ("Woman with Dove", B.153).

B.121

circa1929

Oil on wood panel

T.DE LEMPICKA. (artist's stamp bottom center)

(Etude pour "Femmes au bain")

Except for the middle part, this painting never got beyond a sketch. See B.120.

Collections

1993 - Private collection - Poland
1994 - Private collection - U.S.A.

Auctions

20/03/1988 - PARIS. Charbonneaux., # 72 $ 36 667
18/06/1990 - PARIS. Charbonneaux., # 10 $ 0
24/04/1993 - KRAKOW. Vindobona, # 17 $ 48 100

B.122

circa1929

Oil on canvas

(Trois nus)

A composition that is very similar to the central part of "Women Bathing", with a soaring effect in addition.

Collections

1985 - Barry Friedman Ltd. - U.S.A.
1987 - Private collection - U.S.A.

Auctions

11/02/1987 - NEW YORK. Sotheby's “5554- Martin”, # 66 $ 35 000

B.123

circa1929

Oil on canvas

(New York, étude)

Collections

Private collection - U.S.A.

Exhibitions

1972 - Galerie du Luxembourg, "Tamara de Lempicka de 1925 à 1935", Paris, France

History

First stay in the UNITED STATES, Addresses: Tamara de Lempicka travelled to New York in September 1929, in order to fulfil several commissions. The press was very much taken with the beautiful Polish woman's aura. Her skilful way of suggesting the aristocratic charms of the Old World high society in her art made her a manner of ambassadress of that world.
1929, Chronology: Summoned by a wealthy American, Rufus Bush, to paint a portrait of his fiancée, De Lempicka made her first trip to New York. An article published two years earlier in Vanity Fair had prepared America for her arrival. She produced a number of paintings while there, including some studies of skyscrapers. She held exhibitions simultaneously in Poland (winning a bronze medal at the International Exhibition in Poznan), Paris (in four Salons and the Galerie Colette Weil) and the United States (at the Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh).

B.124

circa1929

Oil on canvas

T.DE LEMPICKA. (bottom left)

(New York)

Lempicka discovered New York in 1929. She went there to carry out a few portrait commissions. She probably painted this work during her first stay. Her urban visions would later appear as backgrounds to her portraits, like the one of Mrs. Boucard, which takes up several elements of this composition.

Collections

1993 - Private collection - U.S.A.

Exhibitions

1972 - Galerie du Luxembourg, "Tamara de Lempicka de 1925 à 1935", Paris, France
1994 - Accademia di Francia (Villa Medici), "Tamara de Lempicka/ Tra eleganza e trasgressione", Rome, Italy
1996 - Barry Friedman Ltd. "Tamara de Lempicka", New-York, United States
1997 - Hiroshima Museum of Arts. Tamara de Lempicka, Tokyo-Hiroshima, Japan

History

First stay in the UNITED STATES, Addresses: Tamara de Lempicka travelled to New York in September 1929, in order to fulfil several commissions. The press was very much taken with the beautiful Polish woman's aura. Her skilful way of suggesting the aristocratic charms of the Old World high society in her art made her a manner of ambassadress of that world.
1929, Chronology: Summoned by a wealthy American, Rufus Bush, to paint a portrait of his fiancée, De Lempicka made her first trip to New York. An article published two years earlier in Vanity Fair had prepared America for her arrival. She produced a number of paintings while there, including some studies of skyscrapers. She held exhibitions simultaneously in Poland (winning a bronze medal at the International Exhibition in Poznan), Paris (in four Salons and the Galerie Colette Weil) and the United States (at the Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh).

Auctions

03/11/1993 - NEW YORK. Christie's “Christine-7762”, # 204 $ 35 000
12/11/1987 - NEW YORK. Sotheby's “5633-Tzanck”, # 379 $ 0

B.125

circa1929

Oil on wood panel

T.DE L. (bottom right)

(Gratte-ciels)

Collections

1930 - Purchased directly by Baron Raoul de Kuf - Hungaria
1988 - Private collection - U.S.A.

History

First stay in the UNITED STATES, Addresses: Tamara de Lempicka travelled to New York in September 1929, in order to fulfil several commissions. The press was very much taken with the beautiful Polish woman's aura. Her skilful way of suggesting the aristocratic charms of the Old World high society in her art made her a manner of ambassadress of that world.
1929, Chronology: Summoned by a wealthy American, Rufus Bush, to paint a portrait of his fiancée, De Lempicka made her first trip to New York. An article published two years earlier in Vanity Fair had prepared America for her arrival. She produced a number of paintings while there, including some studies of skyscrapers. She held exhibitions simultaneously in Poland (winning a bronze medal at the International Exhibition in Poznan), Paris (in four Salons and the Galerie Colette Weil) and the United States (at the Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh).

Auctions

12/05/1988 - NEW YORK. Christie's “Man Ray-6596”, # 285 $ 38 000

B.126

1929

Oil on canvas

(Portrait of Mrs. Bush)

This portrait of Mrs. Rufus Bush, as a young bride of nineteen, was painted in the United States, explaining its American format. In fact, it was for this commission that Lempicka first went to New York (see the preliminary sketches).

Collections

1929 - Purchased directly by Mr. Rufus Bush - U.S.A.
1989 - Private collection - U.S.A.

History

First stay in the UNITED STATES, Addresses: Tamara de Lempicka travelled to New York in September 1929, in order to fulfil several commissions. The press was very much taken with the beautiful Polish woman's aura. Her skilful way of suggesting the aristocratic charms of the Old World high society in her art made her a manner of ambassadress of that world.
1929, Chronology: Summoned by a wealthy American, Rufus Bush, to paint a portrait of his fiancée, De Lempicka made her first trip to New York. An article published two years earlier in Vanity Fair had prepared America for her arrival. She produced a number of paintings while there, including some studies of skyscrapers. She held exhibitions simultaneously in Poland (winning a bronze medal at the International Exhibition in Poznan), Paris (in four Salons and the Galerie Colette Weil) and the United States (at the Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh).
Mrs. Rufus BUSH, Client: Mrs. Rufus Bush was a wealthy heiress. When she sat for Lempicka, she was 19 and freshly married. After her divorce three years later, she had the painting stored away and promptly forgot all about it. Sixty years later, her daughter was surprised to discover, while reading Kizette de Lempicka's book, that her mother was involved. Out of curiosity, the daughter paid a visit to the old storehouse harboring remnants of various family moves, where she came upon the painting. In a letter she immediately got off to share here feelings with Kizette, the daughter writes: "There it was, like new, in perfect condition, unmoved over the past sixty years! It was a moving experience, like opening a time capsule." This was the commission that had brought Lempicka to New York in 1929.

B.127

1929

Oil on canvas

New York 1929 (on the back of the canvas)

(Femme à la robe jaune)

Wearing a saffron dress that stands out against the gray background of a stormy sky, this blond young lady, with a disillusioned expression on her face, recaptures, almost entirely, the pose struck by Madame de Récamier. The painting was executed during Lempicka's first stay in New York.

Collections

1972 - Private collection - France

Exhibitions

1997 - Hiroshima Museum of Arts. Tamara de Lempicka, Tokyo-Hiroshima, Japan

B.130

circa1928/1930

Oil on canvas

DE LEMPICKA. (en bas à droite)

This painting attributed to Tamara de Lempicka came up in a Sotheby's auction in New York in November 1982. The auction catalogue asserted: "This work is a second circa ion with some slight variations, of the well-known portrait of the artist's daughter, Kizette in Pink, acquired by the Musée de Nantes in 1928". We may suppose that, after having sold the original to a museum, Tamara de Lempicka executed this replica of a portrait she cherised very much. See B.81.

Collections

Purchased directly by Mr. Boris Kitchen - U.S.A.
1982 - Private collection - U.S.A.