Tamara de Lempicka: The Golden Woman of Art Deco

Tamara de Lempicka, born Tamara Rosalia Gurwik-Gorska in 1898 in Warsaw (not 1902 in Moscow as she claimed), died on March 18, 1980 in Mexico from respiratory issues at age 82. The Polish painter, an Art Deco icon, was known as the 'golden woman' by Gabriele d'Annunzio. She constructed a mysterious persona, hiding her Jewish father and claiming Russian nobility. Her career began as a hat designer and later as a model in the 1930s. Her paintings, often featuring sensual women from high-class brothels, are considered cold by some critics but reveal inner visions. Her famous self-portrait 'Tamara in the Green Bugatti' (1932) symbolizes female emancipation. She was openly bisexual, with relationships with model Rafaela and Duchess Marika de La Salle. Most of her works remain in private collections. In later years, her style became more abstract, using a palette knife, and she painted devotional icons. Her art reflects her eccentric, scandalous life lived on the margins of society.