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585:"Surely, there must be some way to design eyeglasses that could be attractive! What looks good on a face? What adds to a face? What could a woman wear on her face that would be romantic?" she wondered. Altina took inspiration from Venetian Harlequin masks as a starting point and began to cut masks into the frames she envisioned. Schinasi approached all of the major manufacturers with her creation — all of which rejected her, claiming her design was too edgy.
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level of commitment to her art. Having begun studies with Howard
Warshaw at the Jepson School of Art in Los Angeles, Schinasi said, "I took a room in the house as my studio and put a sign on the door: 'Do not come in unless there's a catastrophe.' I wanted to have three hours a day just to myself without interruption, and I really did work very hard." Schinasi began to paint in earnest and her large paintings were selected for the
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Upon Morris
Schinasi's death in 1928, his widow Laurette Schinasi travelled to Manisa, Turkey to establish Moris Sinasi Çocuk Hastahanesi, or Moris Sinasi Children's Hospital in the city of her late husband's birth. It remains in operation today. Laurette took Altina and her sister to Paris shortly
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In the 1940s, with hopes of spending more time on her art, Schinasi moved west to Los
Angeles first expanding and finally selling her eyeglass business. She had by this time married Viennese doctor and classical pianist Eric Barrett. The move away from her business and New York allowed for a new
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Though she would continue to register patents for inventions until late in life, Schinasi's breakthrough came early on when she created and marketed the
Harlequin eyeglass frame that defined glamour in the late 1930s. A walk down the street occasioned this design breakthrough; finding herself
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about her 1978 exhibit at the
Touchstone Gallery, as well as her life, work, and experience at Synanon. While at work on the chairacters, Schinasi's studio assistant left and she hired Celestino Miranda, who had recently arrived in United States, after seeking asylum from Cuba. When Schinasi
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639:, a short documentary film that features the anti-Nazi work of the celebrated artist and Schinasi's former teacher. With Grosz' permission, given in a contract which Grosz wrote by hand on a napkin, Schinasi created a film of his drawings shot on sixteen-millimetre film. Grosz' book,
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Once she had set up production and negotiated deals with department stores, Schinasi opened an office where she oversaw marketing and distribution, later expanding her operation to the West Coast upon relocating to
California. In 1939, Schinasi won the
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travelled to Santa Fe for the summer, Miranda accompanied her there. A gifted artist in his own right, Celestino would prove a great collaborator and an inspiration. They returned to
Washington at the summer's end. The pair married in 1981.
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401:. While spending more time with Bensussan, she developed a deeper appreciation for art, and as a result, Altina chose to attend art school rather than college when she returned to the United States. In New York, Altina studied with
345:(August 4, 1907 – August 19, 1999) was an American sculptor, filmmaker, actress, entrepreneur, window dresser, designer, and inventor. She was known for designing what she called the "Harlequin eyeglass frame", popularly known as
721:'s photograph of unoccupied chairs, Schinasi was inspired to combine the function of the seat with the form of the sitter. She called these fantastic chairs and benches "chairacters". Schinasi first worked the core in
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and then sculpted the form in plaster. The fibreglass casts that were the final product were made of the sculpted prototype at a studio and factory in
California. Her chairacters were featured on the cover of the
655:. Schinasi is credited as producer under the name Altina Carey, her married name at that time (she had married Charles Carey after the death of her second husband from tuberculosis). The film was preserved by the
369:, Turkey whose wealth stemmed from the international fine tobacco business. Altina's mother, Laurette Schinasi née Ben Rubi, the granddaughter of Schinasi's business associate Joseph Ben Rubi, was a native of
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was the pastor and Dr. King Jr. was the guest preacher that Sunday. From the pulpit, Dr. King Jr. told the congregation about the script and how he looked forward to the movie. While in
Alabama, Schinasi met
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752:, where she lived with her fourth husband, painter Celestino Miranda, in her final years. In 2014, her granddaughter, Victoria Sanders, produced a well-received documentary about her life entitled
853:"Modernism101.com | MENGEL MODULE FURNITURE. Promotional/sales ephemera for Morris B. Sanders' Furniture designed in 1946 & produced by the Mengel Furniture Company of Louisville, KY"
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to write the screenplay. When
Killens had completed the script, Schinasi met with Dr. King in Atlanta to deliver the script. At Dr. King's invitation, she visited Savior Church in
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helped with it and also shared a note on behalf of his family: "Happy Birthday, Tina! Thank you for your courage, kindness and inspiration. Much love, always."
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618:(LACMA) juried show. In Los Angeles, Schinasi spent many years as a volunteer art therapist and muralist at the experimental mental health centre,
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underwhelmed by the lacklustre frames in an optician's window, Altina set out to create a frame that conveyed whimsy, mystery and romance.
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In 1973, Schinasi relocated to Washington D.C. where she would live for seventeen years. In 1978, she was interviewed by Pam Peabody at
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1119:"Altina Schinasi Miranda - Visionary Inventor of Harlequin aka Cat-Eye Glasses Frame | Wiki, Husband, Inventions, Death"
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802:"Altina Schinasi, The Harlem Girl Who Knew Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, Salvador Dali And Invented Cat-Eye Glasses"
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has routinely used them to identify human and animal characters as adult females rather than males or juveniles.
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The association of harlequin eyeglasses with female eyewear became and remains so strong that cartoonist
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Harlequin glasses and examples of them being worn (from left to right) in the 1960s, 1990s, and 2010s.
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that said: "Happy birthday to the woman who was a visionary in more ways than one." Her son
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Altina Schinasi was the youngest child born to the Schinasi family in the US. Her father,
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windows. Altina worked in the Copeland workshop to build the windows that DalĂ designed.
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magazines credited Schinasi with revolutionising the eyewear industry and aesthetic.
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after her graduation from Dana Hall. There, Altina studied painting with her cousin,
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transformation of the eyeglass frame into a proper fashion accessory.
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stores. It was in this job that she found herself working alongside
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In 1928, Altina Schinasi married her first husband, noted architect
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American sculptor, entrepreneur, film creator, inventor (1907–1999)
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Patents filed by Schinasi as "Altina Barrett" from 1944 thru 1956.
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Patents filed by Schinasi as "Altina Sanders" from 1933 to 1943.
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Schinasi continued to paint and sculpt, establishing herself in
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on August 4, 1907. After being tutored at home, Altina attended
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On August 4, 2023, on what would have been her 116th birthday,
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It was in California that Schinasi conceptualized and produced
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935:"Altina Schinasi Miranda, 92, Designer of Harlequin Glasses"
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Altina took a job with Peter Copeland designing windows for
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was the source of the narrated text read by Lotte Lenya.
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Visions: sculptor Altina interviewed by Pam Peabody
1206:"4 August: Remembering Altina Schinasi on Birthday"
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Visions: sculptor Altina interviewed by Pam Peabody
910:"Altina Schinasi Miranda & The Harlequin Frame"
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1171:"Google celebrates life of artist Altina Schinasi"
385:and at the age of twelve left home to board at
308:Venice Film Festival, Golden Lion, First Prize
885:"A complete history of the cat-eye sunglasses"
1145:"It's not you, it's me...well maybe it's you"
299:American Design Award from Lord & Taylor
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1094:: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
424:, both of whom would become film directors.
500:. Unsourced material may be challenged and
53:Learn how and when to remove these messages
440:, who had been commissioned to design two
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1368:American people of Ottoman-Jewish descent
1151:. Andrews McMeel Universal, FarWorks, Inc
520:Learn how and when to remove this message
183:Learn how and when to remove this message
165:Learn how and when to remove this message
103:Learn how and when to remove this message
128:This article includes a list of general
970:"Edmond Kovacs, 1924-2010 | Solidarity"
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729:Los Angeles Times Magazine
1312:George Grosz' Interregnum
1005:George Grosz' Interregnum
933:Ravo, Nick (1999-08-21).
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667:Following the success of
645:George Grosz' Interregnum
641:A Big No and a Little Yes
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1388:American women inventors
1255:The Road I Have Traveled
1009:. Movies & TV Dept.
673:Martin Luther King Jr.'s
391:Wellesley, Massachusetts
1373:Jewish American artists
688:Martin Luther King, Sr.
462:Harlequin glasses frame
149:more precise citations.
79:used on Knowledge (XXG)
301:1939
83:See Knowledge (XXG)'s
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1063:Schinasi, pp. 306-310
806:Harlem World Magazine
737:WPFW-Washington, D.C.
719:Henri Cartier-Bresson
647:was nominated for an
414:Morris B. Sanders Jr.
1042:Academy Film Archive
1038:"Preserved Projects"
750:Santa Fe, New Mexico
657:Academy Film Archive
653:Venice Film Festival
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1054:Schinasi, pp. 292-7
684:Montgomery, Alabama
680:John Oliver Killens
676:March on Washington
663:March on Washington
452:Art Students League
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