Tamara de Lempicka (Polish, 1894–1980) defined the Art Deco movement in painting, with a seductive style that singularly blends the European figurative tradition with the frenetic energy of the avant-gardes. From captivating portraits to powerful female nudes, her works exude cool elegance and transgressive sensuality. Through her bold pictorial technique and exquisite draftsmanship, and in her own carefree lifestyle, Lempicka captured the confidence, glamour, and effervescence of interwar Paris as well as the cosmopolitan sheen of Hollywood celebrity.

Published on the occasion of the 2024 exhibition Tamara de Lempicka, this essential volume presents the full arc of Lempicka’s career, including more than one hundred works and an in-depth exploration of her drawings. Fresh scholarship about her artistic development and adventurous life is accompanied by a new translation of a text by French painter Françoise Gilot and a personal appreciation of the artist’s work by Barbra Streisand.

Contributors

Gioia Mori is a professor of history of contemporary art at Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma.

Furio Rinaldi is curator in charge of the Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.

Alison de Lima Greene is Isabel Brown Wilson Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

Laura L. Camerlengo is curator in charge of costume and textile arts at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.

Françoise Gilot was a French painter.

Barbra Streisand is an Academy Award–winning actress, singer, director, writer, and producer who is also a lifelong activist, a dedicated philanthropist, and a passionate art collector.