RAPHAEL KIRCHNER (American 1867 - 1917). Vivienne Segal: Ziegfeld Follies Century Girl, 1916. Pastel, graphite, and opaq...

Description

RAPHAEL KIRCHNER (American 1867 - 1917)
Vivienne Segal: Ziegfeld Follies Century Girl, 1916
Pastel, graphite, and opaque paint on paper
23.5 x 17.5 in.
Signed lower right
Raphael Kirchner was born in Vienna, Austria and along with Alphonse Mucha, was one of the most renowned Art Nouveau postcard artists of the Vienna Secessionist movement. The visionary artist later moved to France and worked as the cover artist for the wildly popular La Vie Parisienne. His radically risque portraits of sexually emancipated women were dubbed "Kirchner Girls."

Kirchner moved to New York City in 1915, and was introduced to Florence Ziegfeld by Viennese architect Josef Urban, the man responsible for the ornate Follies sets and design. Ziegfeld, always an innovator, hired Kirchner as a staff artist.

This Raphael Kirchner pastel, part of a suite of five illustrations spotlighting the erotic and luminous showgirls of the Ziegfeld Follies, is a newly discovered piece of New York City theater history. This stunning portrait of Vivienne Segal hung in the lobby of the historic Century Theater until it shut its doors in 1936.

The plaque on the period frame for this piece reads "A Ziegfeld Girl from life by Raphael Kirchner."

More information about RAPHAEL KIRCHNER. See also: Kirchner, Raphaël, Raphaël Kirchner Artist.

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