Edina Altara (1898–1983) was an Italian illustrator, decorator and fashion designer from

Sassari Sassari (, ; sdc, Sàssari ; sc, Tàtari, ) is an Italian city and the second-largest of Sardinia in terms of population with 127,525 inhabitants, and a Functional Urban Area of about 260,000 inhabitants. One of the oldest cities on the island, ...

. In the thirties she was devoted to ceramics, fashion and decoration. A versatile artist, skilled designer, sensitive and imaginative illustrator and fashion designer, after the amicable separation from her husband in 1934, she opened her own studio in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

which attracted a sophisticated clientele. From 1941 to 1943 she worked with the magazine ''

Grazia ''Grazia'' (; Italian for ''Grace'') is a weekly women's magazine that originated in Italy with international editions printed in Albania, Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Bulgaria, China, Croatia, Colombia, France, Germany. Greece, Indonesia, I ...

''. She illustrated over 30 children's books, including ''Storie di una Bambina et una Bambola'' (1952). Her work was likely included in the 1950-53 exhibition ''Italy at Work: Her Renaissance in Design Today'' (from the

Brooklyn Museum The Brooklyn Museum is an art museum located in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. At , the museum is New York City's second largest and contains an art collection with around 1.5 million objects. Located near the Prospect Heights, Crown H ...

and the

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...

). This work was in a 'Special Interior' designed by architect Gio Ponti. Altara and Ponti collaborated on a number of projects. A painted chest of drawers (ca. 1951) was recently sold for £250,000.

Bibliography

External links

Sardinia Culture article

References

Italian decorators Italian fashion designers Italian women fashion designers 1898 births 1983 deaths People from Sassari Italian women illustrators Sardinian women {{Italy-artist-stub