Sara Lipska

Sara Lipska (1882-1973) was a multi-talented artist who efficiently combined many fields of art and various styles. She dealt with sculpture, painting, interior design, theatre costumes and decorations, advertising posters. Alongside modernism and functionalism in interior design, she was also inspired by the richness of ornaments and colours of Russian folklore in fashion, scenography projects, and Persian miniature in painting.

Fig. 1. Sara Lipska, ca. 1904, Warsaw School of Fine Arts, photographic print, private collection in Paris

Her artistic roots date back to the years of her studies at the Warsaw School of Fine Arts (later the Academy of Fine Arts), but she spent most of her professional life in Paris, where she left at the end of 1912. At that time, the capital of France was a place attracting artists and giving them great creative opportunities. The centre of fine arts, theatre, ballet, music, and fashion offered many opportunities for artistic development. It was also a time of change, emerging trends, lifestyles, and women's role in society. It gave freedom of choice and undoubtedly inspired the artist to act.

The achievements of Sara Lipska prove that she was involved in the most artistically influential circles of the Parisian Boheme and major businesses;  she collaborated with Sergey Diaghilev's a Russian Ballet at the Paris Opera, Helena Rubinstein, Antoine de Paris (Antoine Cierplikowski) - a famous hairdresser and creator of Polish origin, as well as with designer Paul Poiret, fashion house Maison Myrbor and architect Adrienne Gorska (sister of Tamara Łempicka, with whom she was also friends).  

She had boutiques on the Parisian Champs Elysees and in Monte Carlo, selling her original creations. Her work was widely recognised; this can be illustrated by the gold medal at the exhibition of Decorative Arts in 1925,  recognition at the Colonial Exhibition in 1931 and the International Exhibition "Art and Technology in Contemporary Life" in Paris in 1937, participation in the Paris Salons - Autumn, Independent and Tuileries.

Sara Lipska was a strong and courageous woman who overcame many difficulties, including social and moral barriers in order to create. (Fig. 1) The fact that she came from an Orthodox Jewish family (she was the daughter of a Polish Hasidic Jew) did not facilitate her activities. In 1904 Lipska belonged to the first year of students studying at the newly established, co-educational, what was back then considered extremely progressive, Warsaw School of Fine Arts. She enrolled in a sculpture studio, which was still considered the domain of men. Soon after joining the School, she became an assistant to Professor Xawery Dunikowski, one of the greatest Polish sculptors of the 20th century, eventually becoming his muse and partner. The fruit of their intimate relationship was their daughter Maria Xawera Dunikowska. To avoid the scandal, Lipska left Poland without completing her studies. At the end of 1912, she settled permanently in Paris, where her talent exploded in full strength. Today most of Lipska's legacy is in collections in France. One of the sculptures is at the Musée National d'Art Moderne Center Pompidou. Her works can also be found in museums in Poland and the United States and private collections. The abundance of her fashion pieces is located in the Musées de Poitiers and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. She is the author of Leon Blum's monument in Narbonne.

Fashion design was Lipska's great passion. In this field, cooperation with The Ballets Russes, work in Leon Bakst's team, and close contact with him and the environment of the French avant-garde and the world of Parisian theatres was invaluable for her. The artist arrived in Paris when both saloon and everyday street fashion were inspired by Russian folklore and Eastern ornamentation. Many designs of that time cut the traditional Russian costume and its characteristic embellishments, embroidery, colours, and decorative motifs. This influence was initiated by the performances of The Ballets Russes in the capital of France. While the Ballet was triumphing its fame, Sara Lipska had the opportunity to become an artist with the group. She collaborated with Leon Bakst, a great set designer and costume designer, painter, and a graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg. Her experience in designing costumes from the Warsaw School of Fine Arts provided her with an essential skillset. The American photographer Thérèse Bonney, on the back of one of the photos of interiors designed by Lipska, describes her as Bakst's student / protégé writing "Lipska was a pupil of Leon Bakst". His influence can be observed in the artist's designs, the selection of ornaments and colours, and in the way the line is drawn.

Before establishing a saloon with her own collection, she designed clothes and materials for Parisian fashion houses and theatres. As we learn from Leon Bakst's letter to Sara Lipska, the artist's first plans were to open a parlour together with him. They wanted to establish the Maison Lipska et Bakst studio to offer only their dresses and ornamental coat designs. Unfortunately, his sudden death thwarted the joint venture and caused Lipska to open a saloon on her own at the 4, rue Belloni in Montparnasse. We do not know the exact date when the studio was established, but it already existed in 1925. The studio's business card, apart from the address, says: "ses manteaux du soir, ses broderies, ses robes / Lipska montre sa collection tous les jours l'après-midi" - "Her evening coats, her embroidery, her dresses / Lipska shows her collection every day in the afternoon".

Fig.2. Kees van Dongen, Portrait of Antoine Cierplikowski in a Buddha dress designed by Lipska, 1927, National Museum in Warsaw

We can assume that Sara Lipska's designs were successful since, in 1928, she moved her saloon to the elegant Portiques shopping mall at 146, avenue des Champs-Elysées. Fashion houses of designers such as Jeanne Lanvin and Elsa Schiaparelli were located on this prestigious street. Clientele there was different, much richer than in Montparnasse. According to information from Maria Xawery Dunikowska, her mother, ran the salon until 1939. The studio's regulars included: Helena Rubinstein, actresses Alla Nazimowa, Miriam Edez, Adelaide Leventon, Cécile Sorel and Natalie Paley, Marquis Casati (Louisa Amman Casati) and the opera singer Ganna Walska. For them, Lipska designed dresses, eveningwear and blouses. Sara Lipska's faithful client was Antoine de Paris (Antoni Cierplikowski), a great creator and hairstylist who elevated hairdressing previously treated as a craft to the level of art. The costume of the Persian prince, which we know from the painting by Bolesław Czedekowski from 1923, was designed by Lipska. The hairdresser wearing the costume of her design was also portrayed as Buddha by the painter Kees van Dongen (Fig. 2). The canvas was created in 1927, as reported in the September issue of the magazine "La coiffure et les modes", reproducing a photograph of both the painter and Cierplikowski, who modelled for him.

Many fabrics designed by the artist and finished projects have survived. A lot of them were decorated with embroidery incorporating metal threads. The pattern is convex, which gives the effect of a "bas-relief" fabric. The density, richness and complexity of the pattern make it very ornamental. Lipska created floral and geometric patterns, human silhouettes, real and fantasy animals. Her favourite motifs were birds and the unicorn (Fig. 3). She often employed artificial stones, crystals, pearls, beads, gold and silver threads to decorate the fabric. Fabrics used were the finest - silk, muslin, crepe de chine, lama and georgette.

Fig.3. Embroidery design, ca.1925-1930, gouache paper, Musée de Poitiers

As a designer of ballet costumes and clothes, both for everyday and special occasions, Sara Lipska created characteristic objects. Most of them were peculiar works of art characterised by spectacular opulence due to their Russian inspirations, Eastern fabrics and ornaments, and precious stones. It attracted attention and hence were appreciated by actors, eccentrics and the cream of Parisian salons. The list of her clients, the reproductions of her designs and preserved copies affirm the artist's talent, sense of aesthetics, and the ability to fit the design to the model. The fact that Lipska established and ran its own salons for a long time also speaks in favour of her fashion endeavours.

Professor Anna Sieradzka points out that to be successful in the field of fashion, several factors must be met.   Perfect mastery of the tailoring craft, the ability to create new styles, to promote, as well as knowledge of the history and sociology, respect for the laws of economy, efficiency in assessing the political situation, good orientation in broadly understood culture, from art, literature and music to film, excellent sense of female psyche and a bit of luck.

In the light of the factors mentioned above, one may dare to say that Sara Lipska has mastered many of them. She created new forms, dressed famous people. She certainly paid too little attention to advertising and self-promotion. It seems that she obtained some of the orders through her contacts in the artistic circles and acquaintances made during collaboration with Diaghilev's Ballets Russes. She probably got to know her future contractors at balls, para-theatrical performances organised by Paul Poiret, Antoine and Helena Rubinstein. She was also in friendly relations with Natalie Paley, a Russian princess, wife of fashion designer Lucien Lelong. Certainly, the artist’s motivation to pursue fashion design came from passion, but probably also due to financial considerations, it was a more reliable way to earn and support than painting or sculpture. Her own style and clothes were original and intriguing, which can be observed in a few survived photographs.

Sara Lipska was entering French fashion in an era when Paul Poiret was considered a world's greatest creator. Several dresses designed by Sarah Lipska were clearly inspired by Poiret's designs, such as simple "tube-type" cuts or light and airy materials. She added floral ornaments, oriental embroidery, beads and pearls.

In the second half of the 1920s, Coco Chanel entered the scene of the most recognisable fashion designers. Her revolutionary (at the time) comfortable, practical clothes with a straight cut and subdued colours contributed to the great success of the designer and made her an immortal icon among fashion designers. In Lipska's work, only a few projects echoed the new fashion like "tomboy" and "masculinised" line dresses. These are mainly designs from the 1930s. The style à la garçonne can be seen in her suits encompassing a waist-length cassock jacket and a narrow skirt. The headwear accompanying this outfit was a small, colour-coordinated hat, closely fitted to the head, as in the designs for the singer Madame Gautrat (Fig.4). At that time, in designs from Lipska and others, we can observe the pursuit of a plastic uniformity of the figure and monochromatism.

Fig.4. Designs for Madame Gautrat, circa 1930, watercolor, pencil, tissue paper, private collection in Paris

The sports collection Pour le Sport, which includes shorts, was first created in the late 1920s by Elsa Schiaparelli. In 1924, in the most fashionable holiday destination of Parisian society, the famous seaside resort of Deauville (where Antoni Cierplikowski and Sara Lipska visited), Jean Patou opened the very first swimsuit store in the history of fashion. In 1927, knitted fabrics perfectly suited to the needs of sports customers were introduced to the market. Modern women were athletic, practised tennis, rowing, swimming, driving sports cars. Fashion had to respond to this lifestyle change.  SaraLipska, moving with the times, also got to design sportswear. Visor designs dating back to 1934 covered the eyes during training and sunbathing, which was a trend at the time (Fig.5). Several designs of casual outfits for everyday wear referred to the nautical style.

Fig.5. Visor design, 1934, watercolor, pencil, paper, private collection in Paris

Some of Lipska's designs from the end of the 1920s and the 1930s are part of the "geometric" phase of art deco dominating in 1925-1929. The fashion of that time drew from cubism and new avant-garde trends - neoplasticism, constructivism and abstraction. Some of Sara Lipska's creations, such as the design of the dress and the cape, come close to the geometric abstraction of Piet Mondrian from the Neoplastic period (Fig.6). Not only in the arrangement of divisions and lines but also in colour (red, black, blue). The same trend is evident in the artist's 1929 fabric designs. The forms and colours used by Lipska are also close to what Sonia Delaunay (Sara Stern-Terk) designed in the early 1920s.

Fig.6. Design of a dress and cape inspired by neoplasticism, circa 1930, watercolor, gouache, pencil, tissue paper, private collection in Paris

In the 1920s, Sara Lipska collaborated with Maison Myrbor, a French design and production company of interior design and fashion accessories and comprehensive equipment from furniture, curtains, wallpaper through carpets, and toilet items such as boxes and perfume bottles. Many artists who collaborated with Maison Myrbor in Paris included Natalia Gonczarowa, Pablo Picasso, Fernand Léger or Le Corbusier.

In 1967, a beautiful evening cape made of black silk with a sewn-in rare Maison Myrbor label (Fig.7) was added to the Brooklyn Museum collection (today in the MET collection). The silhouette of the cape, due to its length and high stand-up collar, resembles a Russian folk dress. A heavily draped light beige material is sewn in the back part. All is richly decorated with shiny embroidery with a floral ornament of gold and silver metal threads. Museum's curator believes this is a clear example of the influence of Eastern European artists and designers on Myrbor's designs. Lipska was most likely the designer of the cape.

Fig.7. Maison Myrbor, Evening Cape, Silk, metal, Ca.1925, back view, New York, Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Brooklyn Museum, 2009; Gift of Mrs. Dudley N. Schoals, Charlotte Shufeldt, Frank A.Vanderlip, Jr., and John M. Vanderlip, 1967 (2009.300.3302) © Photo SCALA, Florence

Summing up, it must be emphasised that fashion, which in the 1910s and 1920s due to social reasons was a subject to many spectacular changes, was often inspired by eastern clothes, its colour, ornaments, and contemporary abstract cubist painting. Lipska's embroidery projects inspired by the Orient, chunky, richly decorated with stones, pearls and golden threads, sometimes resembled convex reliefs and were her hallmark. She wore them over evening coats and dresses. In her projects, she also drew from the patterns introduced by the leading creators of French fashion, such as Poiret, Patou and Chanel. The clothes and appliqués sewn onto them, stylistically derived from cubism, resembled paintings in composition and colour. Lipska's designs were also her response to the needs of modern women dictated by a change in lifestyle. The work of a fashion designer allowed her to support herself and her daughter and realise her great passion. Cooperation with Leon Bakst and Marie Cutoli, and later independent management of a fashion atelier, allowed her to develop both artistically and professionally.

I would like to thank Florence Michelin, Jean-Marc Moser, and Pascal Faracci for their help in illustrating the article.

By Ewa Ziembińska, PhD
Chief Curator at the Xawery Dunikowski Museum of Sculpture, National Museum in Warsaw

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Ewa Ziembińska has particularly insightful knowledge of the artist’s works. She’s an author of the first monographic publication on the work and life of Lipska. In 2012 she curated an exhibition “Sara Lipska. In the shadow of the Master” which took place at the Xavery Dunikowski Museum of Sculpture in Warsaw. It was a very first exhibition devoted specifically to the artist.