Bernard Boutet de Monvel

Private Collection;

With Saint-Honoré Art Consulting, Paris, September 2012.

Bernard Boutet de Monvel began collaborating in 1912 with several prestigious fashion magazines, including Gazette du Bon Ton, Journal des dames et des modes and, after the war, Vogue, Harper’s Bazar (entitled Harper’s Bazaar after 1929) The Delineator, and others.

He also lent his talent to advertising commissions, notably for Vuitton. The drawing presented here is one such example. A young maid polishes a pair of shoes before placing them in a shoe trunk (or shoe secretary), also known as the Lily Pons trunk, named after the famous opera singer for whom Gaston-Louis Vuitton is said to have created it in 1925. The economy of means and the precision of the perfectly controlled line are characteristic of Boutet de Monvel’s style.

This is a highly finished preparatory design for the drawing published on page 83 of the May 1925 issue of Harper’s Bazar, in an article by Marjorie Howard entitled The Mode Starts at the Foot. The article may have contributed to the great popularity these luxurious trunks, conceived as traveling cabinets, would subsequently enjoy among wealthy women and celebrities such as the actress Greta Garbo.