The Art of Elegance

The various influences of the early 20th century, including painting, ballet, music hall, theatre, fashion, cinema and magazines, are viewed through a group of artists who by their stylization, their humour and the new printing techniques, created its avant garde, its Art of Elegance. Things thought of as ephemeral were taken to the heights of fashion, creating a style and technique that make them timeless and yet the epitome of their time.

This book focuses on the Art of Elegance by centring on Paris during the first quarter of this century.

Illustrated and written in an anecdotal style, a host of characters of this period are featured, including Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes, Isadora Duncan, Mistinquett, Josephine Baker, Coco Chanel, Van Dongen, Marie Laurencin, George Barbier and Cecil B.

De Mille. Victor Arwas is an authority on the decorative arts from 1880 to the present and is a lifelong collector of painting, sculpture, and objets d'art.