Talented artist of Russian origin, known by the pseudonym Erté (the French pronunciation of his initials RT), Romain De Tirtoff moved to Paris in the early 1910s. In 1913 he began collaborating with the stylist Paul Poiret; in 1915 he obtained his first contract with Harper's Bazaar, the prestigious magazine for which he created more than 200 covers between 1915 and 1938. Erté's illustrations were published in numerous other publications, including Illustrated London News, Ladies' Home Journal and Vogue. But it is his fashion designs that make him famous throughout the world: his delicate and sophisticated figures, of an immediately recognizable style, will constitute an inexhaustible source of inspiration for subsequent fashion, making him in all respects one of the fathers of 'Art Deco. In addition to illustration and fashion, Erté shines in numerous fields of applied arts: he creates jewellery, interior furnishings, theatrical and cinematographic sets and costumes. His artworks are exhibited in the most prestigious museum collections around the world, from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York to the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.