Tamara de Lempicka (1898-1980), a Polish Art Deco painter, was born into an aristocratic family in Warsaw. After marrying a wealthy lawyer, Tadeusz Łempicki, she moved to Paris, the center of the Art Deco movement, in 1919. There, she studied under Académie Julian instructors and befriended avant-garde artists like Amedeo Modigliani and Pablo Picasso. De Lempicka developed a distinctive style characterized by bold colors, geometric forms, and elongated figures, often depicting wealthy patrons and celebrities in glamorous settings. Her clients included fashion icons, actresses, and socialites, further solidifying her association with luxury and modernity. Despite initial resistance from the Parisian art establishment, de Lempicka's captivating portraits gained recognition at the 1927 Salon des Indépendants and propelled her to international fame. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, she exhibited extensively across Europe and the United States, becoming a leading figure in the Art Deco movement. Her work was featured in major publications like Vogue and Harper's Bazaar, further solidifying her image as a modern tastemaker. Fleeing war-torn Europe, de Lempicka moved to the United States in 1939, where her artistic style shifted towards a more abstract and mythological direction.

“Among a hundred paintings, you could recognize mine, my goal was: Do not copy.

Create a new style, … colors light and bright, return to elegance in my models.”

In the Art Deco age the artists used a revitalized decorative language – the elegant forms captured the spirit of the new era full of contradictions. The style is surprising for its reflection of the aesthetic attitudes of Renaissance, classicism and romanticism. Having turned both her art and life into Art Deco-styled reality, Tamara de Lempicka, no doubt, became an icon for Art Deco.