Adam and Eve (Tamara de Lempicka)

Adam and Eve
ArtistTamara de Lempicka
Year1932
MediumOil on panel
Dimensions116 cm × 73 cm (46 in × 29 in)
LocationPrivate collection

Adam and Eve is a 1932 oil-on-panel painting by the Polish painter Tamara de Lempicka. It is in the Art Deco style and depicts a male nude embracing a female nude who holds an apple. In the background are stylized skyscrapers. The painting is 116 by 73 centimetres (46 by 29 in), and is housed in a private collection.

Description

Lempicka was fond of repeating stories about the creation of Adam and Eve. The inspiration for this painting arose when a professional female model took a break to eat an apple. Lempicka asked her to hold the pose and started to sketch. She then invited a policeman who was making his rounds in the streets to pose for Adam.[1] Lempicka contrasts the natural beauty of human bodies beauty with a barren, industrious cityscape.[2]

Provenance

The painting previously belonged to Barbra Streisand, acquired around 1986 for $135,000. On March 3, 1996, Christie's held a dedicated sale of Streisand's collection, including Adam and Eve, which sold for $1,982,500, at the time, setting a record price for the artist at auction. Streisand told The New York Times: "We screamed when the Lempicka price went over $1 million ... I was working out with my exercise teacher and when the bidding went over the top I screamed."[3]

The work is currently in a private collection.

In the media

In December 1993, Architectural Digest featured Barbra Streisand's Art-Deco-inspired Malibu home; the front cover of the issue included an image of Streisand and Adam and Eve.[4]

In 1996, the movie First Wives Club included Adam and Eve. In the film, the painting belongs to Elise Eliot-Atchison, played by Goldie Hawn.

References

  1. ^ [Book: Women Artists in Interwar France: Framing Femininity's, P. 187, ISBN 0-7546-6978-5]
  2. ^ Sandoval, Marisa (2009). "Cityscapes and Sexuality in Tamara de Lempicka's Adam and Eve".
  3. ^ Reif, Rita (1994-03-04). "Record Price In a Sale of Art Owned By Streisand". New York Times. Archived from the original on 2015-05-26. Retrieved 2024-09-20.
  4. ^ Viladas, Pilar (December 1, 1993). "Inside Barbra Streisand's House in Malibu".