Gabrielle (Coco) Chanel was born Gabrielle Chanel in Saumur, France in 1883. She had two sisters and two brothers. When she was twelve her mother died and her father abandoned the four children. She eventually went to live and work for the Henri Desboutin family in their little boutique. Desboutin's brother was Marcellin Desboutin (French 1823-1902), a minor Parisian artist and confident of all the famous French Impressionists. It is from him she first learned to draw.
Coco's first designs were for hats, which she altered from existing models. By the beginning of World War I, her company grew old and she had over 300 employees. All her clothing production was done in Spain from her drawings and fashion templates. In 1917, she was introduced to Pablo Picasso (Spanish 1881-1973). She also associated with the artists Andre Derain (French 1880-1954) and Salvador Dali (Spanish 1904-1989). She designed costumes for stage productions, only if her friend Picasso did the stage design and backdrops. Jean Cocteau (French 1889-1963) was an even closer friend and her drawings show more of his influence than Picasso's. She financially supported Cocteau for years.
In 1913, Coco met the artist-illustrator's SEM (French 1863-1934), Erte (Russian 1892-1990) and Paul Iribe (French 1883-1935). Iribe was her friend and lover for several years. He specialized in sensuous drawings for French fashion magazines. He later designed jewels for both Cartier and Chanel. He personally decorated Coco's Parisian apartment in the Ritz Hotel. It is believed she continued her drawing study under all these artists.
Coco's drawings ranged from quick illustrations for the Spanish workrooms, to mature art deco type figures in color. She naturally found ideas were more easily and quickly tested on paper, rather than with expensive fabric. They are signed with her nickname "Coco" rather than her full name, Gabrielle, as was her custom.
Coco continued to associate with the most famous artists of the period. Even Jean Renoir, son of the French Impressionist, asked her to do the costumes for his movies. After Coco's death in 1971, there was a tremendous legal fight over her immense fortune. Her personal art was overlooked. Her small drawing collection was inherited by her favorite grand niece, Gabrielle Labrunie (nee Palasse). They were deemed of little value compared to the copyrights for her couture designs and perfume formula. According to French law, these drawings were stamped with her estate mark, so their authenticity could not be questioned. On the reverse is Coco's niece's collector's mark. They were not copyrighted as they were working sketches. It is believed less than 46 survive. They range from the sublime earliest hat designs to complete outfits with color like for the famed flapper dress she invented. They all exhibit the famed Chanel silhouette. Drawings from her late years don't exist, as it is believed as Coco's business empire expanded she hired others to illustrate her ideas. As her clothing creations become unwearable and disintegrate, these rare drawings eventually will become the only original surviving examples of her art. Her clothing was produced by others, while these important drawings were actually by her hand.
