The “Roaring Twenties” was a period of tremendous political and social transformation in both the United
States and Europe. Many women enjoyed emancipation with rapid socioeconomic expansion and a thriving
consumerism lifestyle. Women could now vote in elections, and many of them went to gain employment and were
more economically autonomous. This sudden independence manifested itself in how they appeared and acted.
These are the women who influenced Polish artist Tamara de Lempicka’s artworks. She was known as “The Lady
with a Paintbrush” for her self-portraits and portraits of ladies in her stylish, Art Deco genre. Her
refined Art Deco portraits of nobles and the affluent, as well as her highly stylized portraits of the nude,
are among her most well-known works. Her elegant work exudes female strength and passion, and it honors the
individuality and liberty of females in the 1920s.
“I spend life on the fringes of civilization,” Lempicka famously observed, “and the norms of regular society
do not pertain to people who exist on the perimeter.”
See some of their artwork below, click on the images to enlarge them in a new window.
Exploring the Life and Art of Tamara de Lempicka
TInside Artist Tamara de Lempicka’s Tumultuous World — Examining the Life of a Rediscovered Legend