Tadeusz Lempicki, the artist's 'society gadabout' husband.
Tamara de Lempicka (1898 - 1980) was born in Warsaw, Poland. In 1912, she went to live in St. Petersburg with her grandmother when her parents divorced. At the age of fifteen, while at the opera, she spotted the man she would eventually marry - obviously a girl who knew her own mind.
The man of her dreams was Tadeusz Lempicka a well-known ladies man about town and erstwhile lawyer with an experienced eye on Tamara's dowry. (In the movies he would probably have been played by Mischa Auer.)
In 1917, during the Russian Revolution Tadeusz was arrested in the dead of night by the Bolsheviks. Maria searched the prisons for him and after several weeks, with the help of the Swedish consul, she secured his release. They traveled to Copenhagen, Denmark then London, England and finally to Paris France to where Maria's family had also escaped, along with numerous upper-class Russian refugees. - Wikipedia
In Paris, they lived on the sale of assorted family jewels while Tadeusz was unwilling or unable to find work. (Isn't that always the way with these society n'er do wells? Look at his portrait.)
Tamara's bold and glamorous art deco style developed quickly (probably through economic necessity) after she'd given birth to her daughter Kizette. Influenced by cubism and the artists of the day, in 1925 she had her first major exhibition having painted 28 works in six months.
The painter became a society sensation, earning huge fees for portraits of the rich and famous. To read more about Tamara de Lempicka's tumultuous life and times, please use this link.
Tamara de Limpicka touching up her husband's portrait.
Disclaimer: All the artwork and/or photos used in this post were culled from various sources on the internet purely for educational and aesthetic purposes. I own no copyright on the works nor do I claim to.
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