Paris, 1932. Tamara de Lempicka is at the height of her glory, her art deco portraits are the most in demand among the members of the Parisian bourgeoisie, and all are fascinated not only by her unique pictorial style, but also by her life as a liberated woman and her reputation as a passionate lover. A wealthy businessman has commissioned de Lempicka to paint a portrait of his wife, Marjorie Ferry, a British cabaret singer, and has asked the artist to represent Marjorie with the precious cabochon ring he recently offered her.
Marjorie is depicted wrapped in a simple satin fabric, like a goddess carelessly hiding her assets under drapery. She looks at the spectator with confidence and sensuality. The sober architectural décor, with its white polished stone columns, recalls Olympus and raises Marjorie to the rank of a deity, who looks at the world from above. De Lempicka also attributes Marjorie the characteristics of Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom and the arts, described by Homer as a figure "with sparkling eyes".
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The secret of Lempicka's success lay mainly in her technique, which, as she herself said, was based on her personal tastes and her appreciation of art. Lempicka fell in love with painting at the age of 13 in 1911, during a six-month stay in Italy alongside her grandmother. There, she discovered 15th-century Italian art, appreciating its colors and admiring its infallible precision. This experience gave her the desire to become a painter, and went onto shape her sophisticated, elegant and stylistic approach.
Lempicka’s work has seen renewed interest in recent years with great prices being achieved and we are honored to present ‘Portrait de Marjorie Ferry’.
The Portrait de Marjorie Ferry will be one of the centerpieces of the sale of Impressionist and Modern Art to be held at Christie's, London on February 5. “[It] is one of the artist’s most iconic paintings, last seen at auction 10 years ago when it rightly set the record at the time for her work," says Keith Gill, Head of Evening Sale, Impressionist and Modern Art Christie’s, before adding: “Lempicka’s work has seen renewed interest in recent years with great prices being achieved and we are honored to present ‘Portrait de Marjorie Ferry."
At the time, in 2009, the work sold for $4.8 million at Christie's. Its current estimate is between $10-15 million.
The painter's current record is held by La Tunique Rose (1927), a seductive portrait of her lover Rafaëla, which sold at Sotheby's for $13 million last November, surpassing La Musicienne (1929), which reached $9 million the previous year.
Discover more works by Tamara de Lempicka available for purchase
