Altina Schinasi

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Altina Schinasi , married Altina Sanders Barrett Carey Miranda (born August 4, 1907 in New York City , † August 11, 1999 in Santa Fe , New Mexico ) was an American designer and film producer .

Live and act

The Schinasi family mansion in Manhattan

Altina Schinasi was born in 1907 as the youngest of three daughters of Morris (1855–1928; also Moussa ) and Laurette Schinasi in a mansion in Manhattan . Her father, a Turkish immigrant, had made his fortune with the patented invention of a cigarette rolling machine .

Schinasi first worked as a window designer in a store in Manhattan. When she noticed the uniformity of the round glasses available at the time, she developed a new, pointed design that became known as Harlequin glasses . Initially, Schinasi's invention was rejected by various manufacturers. Eventually she worked with Lugene, a modern optician's shop on Madison Avenue . Writer Clare Boothe Luce bought one of the first models, and many more customers followed. The Harlequin glasses became a trend in the late 1930s that was picked up by magazines such as Vogue and Life . Schinasi founded a company that took over sales. In 1939 she received the Lord & Taylor American Design Award. Her glasses were worn until the 1950s and had a revival in the early 1990s .

Schinasi was also interested in art, painted and made sculptures. She learned from painters like George Grosz in the Art Students League of New York and René Bensussan in Paris. In the mid-1940s, Schinasi sold her eyewear company and moved to Los Angeles. There she studied at the Jepson School of Art with Howard Warshaw .

In 1973 Schinasi moved to Washington, DC Inspired by a photo by Henri Cartier-Bresson , she developed a novel design for human-like seating, which she called Chairacters and which appeared on the cover of the Los Angeles Times , among other things .

Schinasi was married four times. Her first husband was a New York architect. The marriage had two sons, Terry Sanders and Denis Sanders , who became successful filmmakers and Oscar winners . Schinasi's second husband, Barrett, was an Austrian doctor.

In 1960, Schinasi and her third husband Charles Carey produced the documentary short film George Grosz 'Interregnum about their former art teacher. Terry Sanders acted as cameraman, Lotte Lenya as speaker. The film earned the producer duo an Oscar nomination and won a Golden Lion .

In 1981 Schinasi moved to Santa Fee, New Mexico. There she married her fourth husband, the painter Celestino Miranda, who had fled Cuba, and continued to work as an artist. In 1995 she published the autobiography The Road I Have Traveled . She died of a heart attack at the age of 92 in her apartment in Santa Fee.

Schinasi's grandson Peter Sanders (* 1969), son of Denis Sanders, portrayed his grandmother in the documentary Altina (2012). The full-length film, which was shown at various festivals, shows excerpts from an interview Terry Sanders conducted with her in 1991, family photos, film scenes and comments from friends and their two last husbands.

Awards

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Nick Ravo: Altina Schinasi Miranda, 92, Designer of Harlequin Glasses. In: The New York Times August 21, 1999, accessed January 16, 2014.
  2. ↑ a b Altina Schinasi Miranda. In: Variety August 23, 1999, accessed January 16, 2014.
  3. ↑ Estate of Altina Carey Miranda victoriasanders.com, accessed on January 16, 2014.
  4. ↑ movie Altina altinathefilm.com, accessed on January 16, 2014.
  5. ↑ Steve Warren: 'Altina' about filmmaker's interesting grandmother. In: Herald Tribune April 15, 2012, accessed January 16, 2014.
personal data
SURNAME Schinasi, Altina
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Carey, Altina (married name); Miranda, Altina Schinasi (married name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American designer and film producer
DATE OF BIRTH 4th August 1907
PLACE OF BIRTH New York City
DATE OF DEATH August 11, 1999
Place of death Santa Fe , New Mexico