Antonio's Girls by Christopher Hemphill - 1982: Antonio Lopez

Antonio's Girls - Antonio Lopez, by Christopher Hemphill, designed by Juan Ramos, devised and edited by Karen Amiel. First Paperback Edition 1982, Congreve Publishing Co. 128 pages, 11.25" x 9.25".

SIGNED BOLDLY in 3 places in gold metallic ink pen WITH ORIGINAL SKETCH BY THE ARTIST.

• Inside the front cover is scrawled "1985".

• First page is inscribed: "Antonio 1985 for Jennifer - Learn to draw really well - take a couple of years! XO do it right! X".

• Title page also signed"Antonio" large, across the page in gold beneath his printed name.

• Contents page contains an original full page signed sketch of a woman's profile face with a hat and bow, signed boldly"Antonio 85" at the bottom, also in gold.

This was the first book about the beautiful work of legendary Nuyorican fashion artist Antonio Lopez. It was a collaboration with Antonio's long-time partner Juan Ramos, who also contributed watercolor renderings to some of Antonio's illustrations and assisted in putting the book together. The book contains 72 color illustrations, 54 in black and white, plus dozens of photos and snapshots by Antonio, Juan and others. Antonio drew from live models, working fast, capturing the essence of his subjects and clothing using selective energetic strokes and flambuoyant colors. Featured in this collection are drawings, photos, interviews and personal stories from a few of Antonio's favorite models, affectionately referred to as "his Girls". He helped to launch the careers of Jessica Lange, Jerry Hall, Grace Jones, Pat Cleveland, Tina Chow, and others. At a time when fashion art focussed mainly on the clothing on a figure, Antonio's work went far beyond the status quo introducing rich creative experimental styles and techniques. He embellished his figures with objects from nature, plants, animals, exotic props, inspirations from street culture and theatrical costumes. The book includes commercial and editorial illustrations done for major ads and designers, wildly stylized portraits, fantasy scenarios, shoe metamorphosis, plus unique interpretations and fine-art abstractions of fashions, accessories and makeup.

Antonio Lopez (Feb 11, 1943–March 17, 1987) was one of the most creative and influential fashion illustrators of the 1960s–1980s. Born in Puerto Rico, at age 7 his family moved to NYC where he got his fashion illustration career start in 1962 working as an intern for Women's Wear Daily. In 1969 he moved to Paris and began working with Karl Lagerfeld, plus illustrated for Vogue, Vanity Fair, Harper's Bazaar, Elle, Interview, and many other publications. His iconic style changed the look of fashion illustration, where he developed a creative variety of art styles – from surreal fantasy paintings, to tightly detailed intricate renderings, plus abstractions of shoes and quick sketches in watercolor and ink. Antonio was quite prolific having his art published in dozens of top fashion magazines throughout the US, Europe and Asia, plus numerous ads and sketches for designers and celebrities. He illustrated a version of the Arabian Nights in 1985, but his career was cut short when he tragically died from AIDS-related complications in 1987 at the age of 44. His Partner Juan also died from Aids in 1995. Later books about his work would include Antonio's People (Thames & Hudson 2004), and Fashion, Art, Sex & Disco (Rizzoli 2012). In 2016 the Museo del Bario in NYC featured a major exhibit of his work.

Condition: Mixed. The cover has some issues. The wrapper paper has some splits and cracks along the spine. Both front and back covers show some shelf wear, minor soiling and dents. The binding is intact, no loose or missing pages. Except for the signatures and front sketch by the artist, all inner pages are in good condition with no markings, tears, creases or damage other than the original artist signatures, sketch and inscription. The original sketch and signature add value to this book, which is already a collectable item being out of print for decades.

Estimated value with signatures and sketch = $300. plus shipping.