Interested in art deco? Learning about art deco artists will give you some background and understanding of the art deco movement.

Tamara de Lempicka
Born in Warsaw, Poland in 1898, Tamara de Lempicka is arguably one of the most famous art deco artists. Born wealthy and married in St. Petersburg, Russia at the age of 16, de Lempicka charmed the Bolshevicks into releasing her husband, who had been arrested during the Russian Revolution. De Lempicka became famous for her art deco portraits after the couple moved to Paris. After a time in Paris, de Lempicka moved to Hollywood to escape the Nazi threat. She and her second husband, Baron Raoul Kuffner, moved to New York in 1943. De Lempikca died in Cuernavaca, Mexico in 1980. Her works include:

• Self-Portriat in a Green Bugatti (1925)
• Adam and Eve (1932)
• The Refuges (1937)

Rene Lalique
If you are interested in glass, you are familiar with Rene Lalique. Lalique was born in Ay, France, in 1860. Lalique apprenticed with Louis Aucoc, a well-known Parisian jeweler, followed by a stint at Sydenham Art College in London. After studying again in Paris, Lalique opened his own shop in 1881. The famous actress Sarah Bernhardt was one of Lalique’s jewelry clients. Eventually, Lalique moved from making jewelry to working with glass. Lalique died in Paris in 1945.

The most spent on a Lalique piece was $1.1 million Lalique Fountain, auctioned in November of 1991. Lalique produced glass artwork including car mascots, statuettes and perfume bottles during his lifetime.

L. Murray Dixon
If you have ever been to Miami or seen pictures of the city, you have probably seen Art deco architecture with the Miami twist, called tropical art deco. L. Murray Dixon never completed his education in architecture. However, Dixon was at the forefront of building large art deco hotels in Miami Beach.

Dixon, along with other architects, built South Beach, the first architectural district to be listed with the National Register of Historic Places. Dixon’s buildings include:

• The Tides (1936)
• The Raleigh Hotel (1940)
• The Ritz Plaza Hotel (1940)
• Haddon Hall Hotel South Beach (1941)