I didn’t. A coworker was talking about him the other day, and despite my art history background, the name wasn’t really ringing any bells with me. I thought perhaps that I simply wasn’t remembering his work, but when I researched him, I discovered that I had never learned about Erte. His work is pretty fascinating; to see samples click here. Here’s a short bio from the same site:

The Russian-born painter Romain de Tirtoff, who called himself Erté after the French pronunciation of his initials, was one of the foremost fashion and stage designers of the early twentieth century. From the sensational silver lamé costume, complete with pearl wings and ebony-plumed cap, that he wore to a ball in 1914, to his magical and elegant designs for the Broadway musical Stardust in 1988, Erté pursued his chosen career with unflagging zest and creativity for almost 80 years. On his death in 1990, he was hailed as the "prince of the music hall" and "a mirror of fashion for 75 years."

Neat.