Joe Eula - Joe Eula Illustration for Geoffrey Beene - Capsule Auctions

February 16, 2023

Fashion, Art, and Design

Lot 56

American (1925-2004)

Joe Eula Illustration for Geoffrey Beene

Medium

mixed media (ink and pastel) on paper

Dimensions

23 1/2 x 17 inches

Signature

signed bottom right

Additional Info

Joe Eula (1925-2004) began his work with Eugenia Sheppard for The New York Herald Tribune at a time when illustrators were positioned near the runway to capture the dresses as models walked out. Before the rise of the fashion photographer, it was the illustrator whose pen captured the essence of garments in fashion shows and on catwalks. With a swift hand and sharp instinct, Joe Eula documented over half a century of fashion and high society life from the 1940s through the late 1990s. Mr. Eula conveyed the garment in motion, through a simple series of lines.
Over the course of his sixty-year career, Eula worked closely with many designers including Valentino, Givenchy, Halston and Yves Saint Laurent. He sketched and photographed major European collections for various publications including French and Italian Harper's Bazaar and designed iconic advertisements for Tiffany, Josie Natori, and Geoffrey Beene. Describing Joe Eula, Geoffrey Beene said "His work is full of energy even when the figures are standing still. They aren't as simple as they look. They are urban people. They're like Joe, both restless and sophisticated."

Estimate: $1,000 - $2,000

Price Realized: $750
Includes buyer's premium

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About this Lot

Description

full body illustration by Joe Eula of male figure and female figures dressed in contrasting colors

Frame Information: unframed
Provenance: Property From the Estate of Geoffrey Beene. Proceeds from this item to benefit the Geoffrey Beene Cancer Research Center at Memorial Sloan Kettering.
Condition: overall good condition, some staining to edges, minor tear of less than 1/2 inch to upper edge

A selection from

The Estate of Geoffrey Beene

Image for Collection The Estate of Geoffrey Beene

Geoffrey Beene was an icon of the American fashion scene: as the New York Times put it, "fashion editors ran out of superlatives to describe Mr. Beene's high-wire act." Just a year after founding his firm in 1963, Beene was awarded the prestigious Coty American Fashion Critics' Award. This would be one of eight Coty awards given to the designer over the course of his life, more than any other designer has received to date. Over the next four decades, Beene built on his reputation as a one-of-a-kind designer, producing acclaimed lines of women's and men's clothing, accessories, and perfume. In 1976, he became the first American designer to show a collection in Milan, Italy.

Two years after Geoffrey Beene's death in 2004, the Geoffrey Beene Foundation was established in his honor. The mission of the Foundation is to support critical philanthropic causes, the most important being the establishment in 2006 of the Geoffrey Beene Cancer Research Center at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Since its creation in 2006, the Geoffrey Beene Cancer Research Center has served as a nucleus for revolutionary new research approaches in preventing, diagnosing, and treating cancer.

Proceeds from this item to benefit the Geoffrey Beene Cancer Research Center at Memorial Sloan Kettering.