Erte, le Fin
The lasting jouissance of Erte.
Joy of joys, I have found copies of Gazette du Bon Ton! Not actual ones, but ones I can look through, virtually. If you are similarly obsessed then do visit the Internet Archive where you can flip through an actual edition of 324 pages. Heavenly.
This edition is from 1922, when Erte was still ensconced exclusively at Harper’s Bazaar and he does not feature here. However, the delights from this year do include a never-before-seen (by me) George Barbier and several Paul Poirets so that’s plenty compensation. I strongly recommend you view this tome at home.
Erte also designed costumes and sets for the Folies Bergere and for Hollywood and Broadway. After the Wall Street Crash of 1929, Erte’s personal fortune was wiped out and there was less demand, or finance available, for lavish productions. Erte continued to work on smaller scale ballets and opera.
Erte left Harpers Bazaar in 1936. Perhaps he would have stayed on, were it not for his disagreements with new editor Carmel Snow, as mentioned in last week’s blog. The owner of Harper’s Bazaar, William Randolph Hearst, was most scathing about Erte’s replacement, poster artist AM Cassandre, saying “I do not know of anybody who could do worse, unless it be Picasso.” Cassandre is a very interesting character though the industrial style of his work makes him a surprising choice of illustrator for a lifestyle magazine. See more about him and his not-very-fashiony work here.
This begs the question though, if you were the owner of the magazine (and Erte’s number one fan) could you not step in and prevent him leaving? Another question to be begged here is with regard to Picasso- why did Hearst have negative feelings toward Picasso? This is another fascinating story in itself. However, we must put aside all others and return to our hero Erte…
Erte stayed in Paris throughout WW11, leaving only afterwards to pursue work wherever he could. Including Blackpool. In fact, for 20 years, Erte designed shows for the Blackpool Opera House. I didn’t even know that Blackpool had an opera house, but there is only one Blackpool in the whole world so it must be true. Erte described Blackpool as “ghastly” which seems somewhat ungrateful whilst also somewhat accurate.
Erte continued to produce work in England, including Brighton. He had an affinity with the seaside and much of his work at this time reflects an “under the sea” theme.
1967 was a big year for Erte. Not only was another huge fan of his born (me), but art dealers Eric and Salome Estorick gave Erte his first solo show in New York. His entire collection was then bought by the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The Estoricks had founded the Grosvenor Gallery in London in 1960. They also, in 1967 curated an exhibition of Erte’s drawings, including his Alphabet Suite. The exhibition was so successful that a revival of interest in Erte’s work surged. The gallery then restaged the exhibition again in 2017 to celebrate 125 years since Erte’s birth. Again the exhibition was so successful that its run was increased. The drawings exhibited in 2017 are from the personal collection of Eric and Salome Estorick.
Also in 2017, 18 years after Erte’s death, 3 examples of Harper’s and Queen (Harper’s Bazaar) covers designed by Erte were beamed out on to the Empire State Building to celebrate 150 years of the magazine. Erte’s legacy lives on.
I have included a link to the 2017 exhibition here so that you can see all the works.
For the final 22 years of his life, he died in 1989 at the age of 97, Erte continued to be involved in a variety of projects, from designing covers for Playboy magazine to creating labels for bottled water and cognac. If you have not heard of Erte before, I implore you to look him up. He will brighten your day, and make you want to swan around draped in exquisite fabrics and trailing pearls.
Art critic Brian Sewell says of Erte, “ He had neither equal, nor rival; he was, and remains, unique.”
My drawing today is of an Erte beauty leaping. I drew her with a fine liner pen on a marbled paper background, and then added some embellishments with a gold pen.
