Muff 

Erte designed this image, called "Muff", as a print. Its visual language connects to Art Deco, a style that developed in France in the years before the First World War. The image presents a stylized woman, swathed in white, whose hands are hidden within a large striped muff. The design suggests the fashion and graphic styles popular in Paris at the time. Such images were disseminated widely in magazines such as Harper's Bazaar, and contributed to the construction of an image of the modern woman: independent, stylish and sophisticated. Erte worked within a network of commercial galleries and magazines, and his elegant, progressive designs helped to shape the image of his era. Art historians consult many sources such as magazines, fashion plates, advertisements, and retail catalogs to understand the cultural context of such works. The meaning of this image lies in its reflection of an evolving, modern society.