Tamara de Lempicka

Abstract

"Tamara de Lempicka (1894-1980), the "Baroness with a Brush," is often cast as one of Art Deco's most celebrated artists, though her work transcends categorization, incorporating elements of Cubism and Neoclassicism in a distinctive, sensuous blend of form and function. Lempicka's paintings, including a self-portrait as the driver of a sleek green Bugatti, often depict dazzling, self-assured women, exuding elegance and transgressive sexuality while combining the modern with the classical. This gorgeous survey presents the full arc of Lempicka's career in the context of her life and her evolving identity, including her Polish and Russian origins, her marriages and other relationships, and her time in France, Italy, and the United States. This book unfolds chronologically through three sections that mark the stages of the artist's life and the evolution of her artistic style, with particular focus on her Jewish heritage, her expression of gender, and her sexuality." -- taken from publisher's website

Contents

Director's Foreword / Thomas P. Campbell -- Preface / Barbara Streisand -- Introduction / Gioia Mori and Furio Rinaldi -- Tamara de Lempicka, Mysterious and Famous / Françoise Gilot -- Essays. Tamara De Lempicka Between Europe And The United States : A Boundless Modernity / Gioia Mori ; Lempicka's Line : Modernism To Mannerism / Furio Rinaldi ; So Intensely Modern : Tamara De Lempicka In America / Alison De Lima Greene -- Catalogue. Tamara Rosa Hurwitz ; In Paris with André Lhote / Gioia Mori ; Ira Perrot : poet, muse, lover / Gioia Mori -- Monsieur Lempitzky ; Ambiguity and social ambition in Lempicka's portraits / Furio Rinaldi ; Kizette de Lempicka: the artist's daughter / Gioia Mori -- Tamara de Lempicka ; Fashioning 'the modern woman' / Laura L. Camerlengo ; Lempicka's nudes : tradition, transgression, and "perverse ingrism" / Furio Rinaldi -- Baroness Kuffner ; Lempicka in America: a "modern medievalist" / Gioia Mor -- Appendices. Tamara De Lempicka : a biographical timeline ; Checklist of the exhibition ; Selected exhibition history.