Vanity Fair Magazine – Page 12 – Old Magazine Articles

Marcel Duchamp Returns to New York City
(Vanity Fair, 1915)

Exempted from serving with the French military in World War I, the artist Marcel Duchamp returned to New York City where he triumphed during the Armory Show of 1913 – together he and his two brothers, Raymond Duchamp-Villon and Jacques Villon, all showed their groundbreaking art. Marcel was the toast of New York and his modern painting, Nude Descending a Staircase was regarded as a masterwork.

In the attached VANITY FAIR article, Duchamp let’s it be known that he crossed the submarine-infested waters of the Atlantic to see American art.

New Portrait Busts by Jo Davidson
(Vanity Fair, 1916)

This single column reported on the 1916 busts that were created by the American sculptor Jo Davidson (1883 – 1952), during his tour of war-torn Europe.
By the end of the Twentieth Century, much of his work would be in the collections of many of the finest art museums, such as the National Gallery of Art, Washington, the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, the U.S. Senate Art Collection and the National Statuary Hall, both in Washington.

The Critics of the Russian Ballet
(Vanity Fair, 1916)

Man of letters and all-around swell-guy Frank Moore Colby (1865 – 1925) had a good time reading the flowery writing of the Ballet Connoisseurs who write for the New York papers…

World War I Fashions: Summer, 1916
(Vanity Fair Magazine, 1916)

Ignoring the general unpleasantness taking place outside of town, the taste-makers of Paris soldiered-on as best they could, creating garments for the summer of 1916 that were both original and feminine and bore the mark of Paris’ characteristic opulence.

Click here to read about the New York fashions of 1916.

Men’s Golf Suits of 1922
(Vanity Fair Magazine, 1922)

A look at some of the ready-to-wear golf suits for the spring of 1922. The chic golfer of that year was seen wearing pleated knickers and a smart action-back jacket sporting cargo pockets (formerly known as billows pockets).

The Tennis Blazer
(Vanity Fair Magazine, 1916)

This article dates to a the dear, dead days when tennis balls were white and landscapers (rather than diesel machinery) were relied upon to make tennis courts; it was also a time when the abilities of a skilled tailor were required for tennis clothing. These court-side stylists would not simply monitor the drape of tennis trousers but they would anticipate the unspoken needs of their tennis dandies – and in so doing, the tennis blazer was born.

Cars from Europe Get Tinier
(Vanity Fair Magazine, 1921)

One thing is absolutely certain- Europe is economizing. It must. Everything in the motor world points to an enormous increase in the number of 10 h.p., four cylinder cars and in the even smaller 7-8 h.p. two cylinder machines.

Albert, King of the Belgians
(Vanity Fair, 1914)

A VANITY FAIR article by Ard Choille that recalls the low key visit that Belgium’s Albert I (1875 – 1934) made to the U.S. in 1898 while in the company of his young bride, Elizabeth (1876 – 1965), formerly the Duchess of Bavaria. Published at a time when the Great War was in it’s fourth month, the journalist was mindful of the valiant roll Albert was maintaining as the Commander-in-Chief of the struggling Belgian Army in the face of the German onslaught.

Click here to read about the W.W. I efforts of Prince Edward, the future Duke of Windsor.

Meet Ann Fish: Conde Nast Illustrator
(Vanity Fair, 1919)

Some ninety-three years ago, Fish was the name scribbled on those unique cartoon illustrations that could be found throughout VOGUE (both American and British) and VANITY FAIR. The editor of American VOGUE between the years 1914 and 1952, Edna Woolman Chase (1877 – 1957) called this English cartoonist brilliant and began running her drawings from her earliest days in that office; her full name was Ann Fish and this article will tell you all we know about her.

This most cosmopolitan of living black-and-white satirists has never stirred from England in all her days. She has never especially extended herself as a spectator of the London life which she so amusingly depicts. She has never gazed on Fifth Avenue.

Reminiscences of August Rodin
(Vanity Fair, 1918)

Not long after the death of Auguste Rodin (1840 – 1917) Paris-based artist Stephen Haweis (1878 – 1969) remembered his friendship with the French sculptor:

He loved flattery, as all human beings do, and would listen attentively to rhapsodies from almost anybody, though they do say that a pretty lady got more attention from him than a half-starved journalist.

Rodin proclaimed himself the culminator of one era of sculpture, the inspirer, and nearly the author of another. He was the father of various schools which are lumped under the title of Modern Art.

Augustus John by Aldous Huxley
(Vanity Fair, Undated)

The British writer Aldous Huxley (1894 – 1963) had much praise for the artist Augustus John (1878 – 1961) and his skill as a portrait painter:

With his few fellows he stands apart, reminding us in the most salutary fashion that it is the gift of God, not the correct education, that produces genuine art…

The Experiences of a Bombardier in the Young French Air Corps
(Vanity Fair, 1916)

In this letter from the artist Bernard Boutet de Monvel (1884 – 1949) the fellow explains thoroughly his thoughts and adventures as a bombardier in a Vosin bi-plane; experiences which contrast greatly with his days in the trenches and he writes well on the feelings of loneliness that an aviator can experience at 2000 feet.

For those who are interested in learning about the living conditions and daily life of World War One pilot officers this article can only help you.

Doubting Bill Tilden
(Vanity Fair Magazine, 1922)

The legendary sports writer, Grantland Rice (1880 – 1954), had his doubts as to whether tennis champ Bill Tilden (1893 – 1953) could keep his title for a third year in a row (he did; all told, Big Bill Tilden won the U.S. Tennis Championship 6 times in succession and 7 times altogether).

Meet Ann Fish: Conde Nast Illustrator
(Vanity Fair, 1919)

Charles Baudelaire
(Vanity Fair Magazine, 1915)

British poet and literary critic Arthur Symons (1865 – 1945) wrote about the Nineteenth Century French poet Charles Baudelaire (1821 – 1867) more as a subject of art rather than an influential wordsmith:

Few modern poets have been more frequently drawn, and few have better repaid drawing, than Charles Baudelaire.

Among the list of artists who created likenesses of the poet were his fellow dandy Edouard Manet (1832 – 1883), the photographer Etienne Carjat (1828 – 1906) and an obscure sculptor named Zachari Astrue, who created the poet’s death mask.

David Lloyd George
(Vanity Fair, 1916)

An article that served to introduce American readers to the new British Prime Minister, David Lloyd George (1863 – 1945), who replaced the incompetent wartime leader Herbert Henry Asquith (1852 – 1928):

People had began to doubt whether or not Mr. Asquith had ‘the will to win’ the necessary determination to make all things work together to that end. There was no doubt in the case of Lloyd George. He had supported credit, he had supplied ammunition, he had inspired general confidence, he had reconciled the irreconcilable. The question arose whether or not the box seat on the coach of state should not be given to him.

The article concentrates primarily on the radical instinct and liberal leanings of Lloyd George, who is often remembered as the Prime Minister who laid the foundations of the British nanny-state.

In 1940 Lloyd George wrote an editorial in which he condemned the leaders of Europe for procrastinating rather than dealing with Hitler when Germany was still weak Click here to read it.

Edgar Degas: R.I.P.
(Vanity Fair, 1918)

Some interesting postmortem thoughts and seldom heard facts concerning the life and times of Impressionist painter Edgar Degas (1834 – 1917); of particular interest was the enormous amount of money fetched at auction for the assorted content of his studio during a time of national crises in France.

European Styles in Cars
(Vanity Fair Magazine, 1921)

One of the special correspondents writing for VANITY FAIR on the subject of motoring was the British novelist Gerald Biss (1876 – 1922), who contributed similar pieces to THE STRAND, TATLER, DAILY MAIL and EVENING STANDARD. In this review, Biss gave his drink-deprived American readers the straight dope as to what they can expect to see from the European car manufacturers of 1921. References are made to the products of the Voisin and Vauxhall Companies and there was some lose talk about electric starters and high-grade tweleve-cylinder cars.