Erté

orig. Romain de Tirtoff

(born Nov. 23, 1892, St. Petersburg, Russia—died April 21, 1990, Paris, France) Russian-born French fashion illustrator and designer. In 1912 he arrived in Paris, where he worked briefly with the couturier Paul Poiret. From 1916 to 1937 he published elegant, highly stylized illustrations depicting models in mannered poses against Art Deco interiors in Harper's Bazaar. He also designed theatrical scenery and costumes for the Folies-Bergère in Paris (1919–30), and in the 1920s he costumed performers in U.S. musicals, most notably the Ziegfeld Follies. His designs continue to be widely reproduced.

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