Pola Negri was a brilliant Polish star of silent movies and among the first successful Europeans in Hollywood. Born in 1897 in Lipno, Poland, she debuted in 1914 in "Slave of Desires" and quickly becoming the most popular actress in Warsaw. In 1917, she left for the heart of European cinema, Berlin, where she appeared in 23 films. By the early 1920s, Negri arrived in New York and the most important stage of her career began. Her greatest success was a role in "Forbidden Paradise" by director Ernst Lubitsch. In the U.S., she not only was a silent movie star but also as a worshiped sex symbol. Both the legendary Charlie Chaplin and the screen heart-throb, Rudolf Valentino, could not resist her charm -- as their relationships dominating tabloids throughout the era. Negri appeared in 63 films, with the last being "The Moon-Spinners" in 1964. She passed away in San Antonio, Texas in 1987 at the age of 90. In her 1970 memoirs, Negri wrote: "Tadeusz Styka, a famous painter of women's portraits at the time, had his studio near Paris. So when he expressed a desire to paint my portraits, I gladly agreed." She explained, "Styka's genius lay not only in capturing likeness, but also in conveying the era and individuality of the portrayed person." Styka depicts the beautiful femme fatale at about age 25, well after her marriage to a Polish count, but before her marriage to Georgian prince Serge Mdivani or steamy relationships with Chaplin or Valentino ... or her close two-decade-long live-in relationship with Texan oil heiress, vaudeville performer, and radio hostess Margaret West. Negri glances at us over her bare left shoulder with sparkling big eyes and a flirtatious smile through thin red lips. She is wrapped only in a fur coat, revealing her shoulders and back. She isn't indecent, but she stimulates the imagination as a "movie vamp" emphasized by a fashionable string of pearls thrown over her back and a large ring on her right hand.

"Portret Pola Negri" by Tadeusz "Tadé" Styka (Polish) - Oil on cardboard / c. 1922 - Muzeum Narodowe w Warszawie (Poland) #WomenInArt #art #Portraitofawoman #ArtText #womensart #styka #PolaNegri #vamp #TadeuszStyka #TadeStyka #TadéStyka #PolishArtist #MuzeumNarodowewWarszawie #NationalMuseumInWarsaw

American Broadway actress Jayne Manners was born Jane Oppermann in 1908. In 1925, she moved from her native Georgia to New York. She probably met Polish-born, French-raised Tadeusz Styka (commonly called Tadé Styka) around 1929, when the artist lived in the heart of Manhattan. Their close relationship is known by the numerous portraits Styka painted of the famous performer. This striking portrait depicts Manners as a beautiful, young femme fatale with extremely long and slender fingers. She is dressed only in a long sleek black robe, which accentuates the alabaster color of her skin. A very deep neckline gently emphasizes her smooth chest as her thin hands extend from the rich black fur cuffs of the sleeves. Manners’ lips are highlighted with stunningly bright red lipstick while her tightly-combed, orangish-red hair gives the model an almost predatory feel. As befits a film temptress, Styka paid special attention not only to her alluring pose, but draws our focus towards Manners classic glam “half-open” or “sleepy” eyes, which enhances her Old Hollywood aura and stimulates our imagination. The artist, in his characteristic way, perfectly captured the image of a young woman who likely enjoys her newly gained independence and fame. The painting was restored in the United States after to two long cuts had been slashed through the model's face. The arrangement and position of the damage suggested it was a deliberate action. Were the cuts made in great anger, out of jealousy, or disappointment of the heart? Unfortunately, we don't know this, but we can speculate. This portrait was exhibited in Warsaw's Zachęta museum in 1936 at an exhibition presenting the work of the Styka family - Jan, Tadeusz, and Adam. At that time, a reviewer in Illustrated Weekly (Vol. 12, Issue 22, 1936, p. 217) praised Tadé for his female portraits as a master of “hair painting” and his ability to “bring out the important grace of his alluring models.”

Portrait of Jayne Manners by Tadeusz “Tadé” Styka (Polish) - Oil on canvas / c. 1930 #WomenInArt #Art #ArtText #PortraitofaWoman #womensart #TadéStyka #TadeuszStyka #Styka #TadeStyka #JayneManners #beauty #hollywood #oldhollywood #oilpainting #fashion #manners #style #1930s #PolishArtist #fineart