Evening pumps
Pietro Yantorny (1874-1936), the self-proclaimed "most expensive shoemaker in the world", was a consummate craftsman utterly devoted to the art of shoemaking. Yantorny sought to create the most perfectly crafted shoes possible for a select and exclusive clientele of the most perfectly dressed people. While Yantorny's clientele came from all over the world, the majority were Americans, where the country's size and prosperity provided for an unparalleled number of the elegantly dressed customers he required. This pair was made for Mrs. Edward G. Sparrow (née Catherine D. Groth) of New York, whose husband's family had vast timber holdings in Lansing, Michigan. Metallic fabrics and leathers were an important element of evening shoes of the 1910s and 1920s.
Artwork Details
- Title: Evening pumps
- Designer: Pierre Yantorny (Italian, 1874–1936)
- Date: 1925–30
- Culture: French
- Medium: metal, rhinestones
- Credit Line: Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Brooklyn Museum, 2009; Gift of Mrs. Edward G. Sparrow, 1969
- Object Number: 2009.300.1592a, b
- Curatorial Department: The Costume Institute
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