#BorisChaliapin
Model in Black Stockings, (1939)

#BorisChaliapin.
Portrait of the Actress Maria Fiori,

Time magazine reported in 1949 that “the movie business was bad last year,” and Hollywood was looking for remedies, namely better stories and younger performers. One actress in particular seemed to be a sure fix, the seventeen-year-old former child prodigy Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor aka Liz Taylor. She had been the star of National Velvet in 1944 and was currently among the bevy of starlets in MGM’s 1949 Little Women, with prospects of glamorous adult roles to follow. Her “great beauty,” as captured here by Russian artist Boris Chaliapin, was her “foremost asset,” for beneath that “breath-taking façade,” reported Time, “there is scarcely a symptom of sophistication.” Despite Time’s dismissive assessment, Taylor would go on to win two Oscars for Best Actress and is regarded as one of the supreme stars of Hollywood’s golden age. Chaliapin’s stylized portrait of Elizabeth Taylor, renders her in a glamorous, almost otherworldly manner, against a backdrop of a crescent moon and twinkling stars. She possesses a serene and somewhat wistful expression, her hands gently cupping her cheeks. Her makeup is classic Hollywood glamour: dark, well-defined eyebrows, striking blue eyes accentuated with eyeliner, and a rich, red lipstick. Her dark hair is styled in a meticulously curled, short bob, typical of the era. She wears small, gold hoop earrings and a light seafoam green, sleeveless dress, visible only around her shoulders and upper arms, suggesting the rest of the garment falls off-canvas. Chaliapin’s colleagues aptly nicknamed him “Mr. Time” due to his contribution of more than 413 covers for the magazine from 1942 to 1970. Throughout Chaliapin’s career as a contract artist for Time, he became known for his ability to produce lifelike portraits in as little as 12 hours. Routinely he would create a cover in three days — record speed when most cover artists required a week or more. Week after week, millions of readers recognized Chaliapin’s familiar signature on the cover.

Liz Taylor by Boris Chaliapin (Russian) - Gouache on paperboard / 1949 - National Portrait Gallery (Washington DC) #WomenInArt #portraitofawoman #ArtText #art #GouachePainting #NationalPortraitGallery #BorisChaliapin #Chaliapin #womensart #LizTaylor #ElizabethTaylor #artwork #Hollywood #TimeMagazine

#BorisChaliapin
Model in Black Stockings, (1939)