Art Deco

George Barbier, Rendez-vous Villa Gori. Robe et manteau de Charles Frederick Worth (Robe and Coat of Charles Frederick Worth), detail, La Gazette du Bon Ton, 1924.

Madeleine Rueg, Allons au jardin. Robe d'après-midi, de Madeleine Vionnet (Let's go to the garden. Afternoon dress, by Madeleine Vionnet), detail, La Gazette du Bon ton, 1925.

For sale: Edition Originale

Armand Vallée, A Quoi Pensent Les Jeunes Filles (What Do Young Girls Think), La Vie Parisienne, April 19, 1924.

George Barbier, L'Eau (Water) for Falbalas & Fanfreluches Almanach des Modes Prsentes Passes et Futures. 1924.

Hand-coloured, plate-signed pochoir from Falbalas & Fanfreluches: "Water", part of the "Four Elements" quatrain from Barbier's 1924 Almanac. "How far we have come" could be an apt subtitle with the revealing new bathing suits (or lack thereof), not to mention the streamlined turban, shown here midway in its evolution from Poiret's elaborate 1910-12 confection to the iconic flapper headband. The background reflection, so very stylized Art Nouveau in line, is a subtle reminder of the vast societal changes which transformed into the new permissive era over the span of a mere 20 years or so (reaching back to when the turn-of-the-century bathing costume was of serviceable and stout wool jersey, right down to the full-stockinged knees). This famous illustrated almanac series was produced from 1922 to 1926 only and depicted high-society life in Paris - the fashion, social and artistic capital of the early inter-war years. Each issue contained a small diary and notation section, an introduction by one of the leading social/cultural doyens of the day, a decorative cover and twelve fashion plates (one for each month of the year). (x)

George Barbier, La Gourmandise (The Greedy). 1924

Hand-coloured, plate-signed pochoir from Falbalas & Fanfreluches: "The Gourmand/Gluttony" (The Greedy), part of the set "The Seven Deadly Sins " from the Almanac of 1925. One can nearly breathe in the heightened elegance not just through the elevated ceilings but in the exquisite dresses of the women waiting to be pampered beyond expectation with the best of French Cuisine. As is Barbier's inimitable style, the men are mere props to the confident curves of the New Woman, and from their take-charge poses we connect with the very tenor of their emerging social dominance and confidence. This famous series of illustrated almanacs was produced from 1922 to 1926 only and depicted high-society life in the fashion, social and artistic capital of the early inter-war years in Paris. Each issue contained a small diary and notation section, an introduction by one of the leading social/cultural doyens of the day, a decorative cover and twelve fashion plates (one for each month of the year). (x)

George Barbier, El juicio de Paris (The Judgement of Paris). 1923.

Clothes and the Car... At the Theatre for Vogue, Photo by Sir Cecil Beaton, 1927.

1926 Art Deco style Polish artist Stefan Norblin. Woman and shadow. World. Illustration on the insert in the middle of the issue.

Photo by Jerzy S. Majewski.

Art Deco painting Couple d’élégants by Polish artist Stefan Norblin, 1920s.

Art Deco Interwar Polish railway posters promoting Warsaw (Warszawa) by Stefan Norblin in 1926.

Norblin “was well-known for his poster designs for the Polish tourist industry. His poster work is distinguished by its unconstrained expression of subject matter, fine hand and intense color. It depicted specific Polish regions, towns and historical buildings for the Ministry of Transportation” (Polish Poster p. 87). Here, we see a view of the old buildings and spires of Warsaw seen from the Vistula river. Gebrauchsgraphik April 1, 1936, p. 43. (x)

Robert Bonfils, En écoutant Satie (Listening to Satie), in Modes et manières d'aujourd'hui: 9e année, 1920 (Paris: Jules Meynial, [1922]), plate 11.

Reproduced from Charles Rahn Fry's copy, now in the Charles Rahn Fry Pochoir Collection, Princeton University Library.

1924 George Barbier, Le Soir (Evening), Falbalas et fanfreluches: almanach des modes présentes, passées et futures.

"Art Deco Costumes By George Barbier" (Introduction by Madeleine Ginsburg, Curator, V&A Museum, London)

1920 George Barbier, Minuit Ou L'Appertment a la Mode, Art Deco Lamp and interior, detail.

For sale: EditionOriginale