A cosmopolitan painter and icon of the art deco movement, Tamara de Lempicka (Polish, 1898-1980) created images that became the symbols of the era stretching from the roaring 1920s through the tumultuous 1930s. Possibly the period’s most brilliant exponent of the modern aesthetic and driven by an iron will to achieve, de Lempicka not only cultivated her artistic talent, she also consciously built an image, one of an elegant, sophisticated woman who was the extravagant protagonist of the European high life.

Through scrupulous scientific analysis of 120 paintings and works on paper, the upcoming release "Tamara de Lempicka - The Queen of the Modern," by Gioia Mori, recreates the artistic atmosphere of the time, suggesting unique parallels and comparisons with other works of the period. Paintings from de Lempicka's entire career are shown, tracing her style and periods spent in Europe, the United States, and Mexico.

The 360-page monograph, with 270 color illustrations, also investigates the artist’s personal life, which was filled with glamour, but at the same time marked by the great and terrible historic events of the early twentieth century.

The publication follows the exhibition at the Vittoriano complex in Rome (Via Di San Pietro In Carcere) which ends July 3, 2011, and consists of 90 paintings and 30 drawings, by de Lempicka and some of her contemporary Polish artist-friends.

Tamara de Lempicka - The Queen of the Modern, edited by Gioia Mori, will be released in September 2011 (Skira, $75.00).