Erté Legacy Collection

THE BACK STORY

Beginning in Aruba in July 2018, I documented the Erté Legacy Collection in its entirety, building a comprehensive visual and archival record. Recognizing its exceptional significance, I secured an investor. Together, we brought the collection and its full documentation from Aruba to the United States in March 2019. I continue as its Curator and Steward, committed to keeping the collection intact and advancing its future for exhibition, scholarship, and public education.

Assembled by a single collector through multiple original publishing galleries, this 205 work collection includes the world’s only complete privately held Erté bronze sculpture collection, all 146 bronzes; the complete 26 work Alphabet and 10 work Numerals suites, preserved in their original portfolio cases with cover sheets; 13 Objets d’Art; and ten Gold Medallions as a complete set.

THE COLLECTION’S PRIZED SCULPTURE: LETTER F

Letter F is the collection’s unique Artist’s Proof and one of its defining highlights. After the collector’s landmark acquisition of 42 bronzes, each numbered 4/375 and received before public release, the collector was subsequently offered this singular proof. No numbered commercial edition of Letter F was ever produced. The sculpture brings a character from Erté’s celebrated Alphabet Suite into three dimensions.

The curatorial presentation traces Erté’s evolution from paintings to print to bronze. Highlights include Victoire, the first bronze cast; both Ibis versions, showing the design refinement from Ibis I to the more elegant face and head of Ibis II; and Elegance, the bronze interpretation of Symphony in Black, Erté’s most recognized image worldwide.

THE SUITES AND ART DECO’S RESURGENCE

The complete Alphabet and Numerals suites helped launch the resurgence of Art Deco in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Erté transformed letters and numerals into theatrical human figures, bringing the movement’s glamour and decorative line to a new generation. Preserved in their original portfolio cases with cover sheets, the suites also reveal the progression from print to bronze, as visual ideas first expressed in line were realized in three dimensions.

THE COMPLETE GOLD MEDALLION SET

The ten Gold Medallions form a complete set within the collection. These double sided relief works display Erté’s intricate artistry in precious metal, with elegant figures, profiles, and mythological imagery. His signature is cast into the metal. Together, the medallions extend his Art Deco vision into another medium and period of his creative work.

OBJECTS D’ ART AND THE DECORATIVE ARTS

The 13 Objects d’ Art complete the collection’s expression of Erté’s decorative arts. Vases, bowls, candelabra, and other sculptural forms unite the human figure with functional design, bringing his theatrical elegance into the interior and the objects of daily life.

The collection’s record includes detailed front, back, and signature photography, 360° video of every sculpture, receipts, Certificates of Authenticity, brochures, signed books, and retrospective materials.

The 146 bronzes represent the culmination of Erté’s entire career as an artist and designer, translating a lifetime of creative work into three dimensional form. He regarded bronze sculpture as the height of his career, valuing its permanence and the possibility that his work would endure beyond his lifetime. Costumes, paintings, and prints do not offer that same longevity. I steward the complete collection intact because its cultural and educational value lies in its wholeness, as a tribute to Erté and an opportunity for future generations to experience, study, and share his legacy.