Louis Icart’s drawings and prints of sensual, glamorous women and 1920s Parisian nightlife became synonymous with the Art Deco movement.

Icart moved to Paris in 1907 to study painting, drawing, and printmaking. His style was greatly influenced by 18th-century painters like Jean-Antoine Watteau, François Boucher, and Jean-Honoré Fragonard, although he also drew from artists like Gustave Moreau who were closer to his generation.

He took an early interest in fashion, working as a designer for major fashion studios at a time when the industry was experiencing a revolutionary shift from the conservative garb of the 19th century to the slinky, figure-conscious styles of the early 20th century. Icart’s etchings of female figures in seductive poses —often in the guise of the courtesan or temptress —were widely published in the 1920s and ’30s, and brought him great professional and financial success.