In The Perfume Museum: A Portrait, Sandra Chevrier presents a series of portraits of famous American women from various points in their career. Part I chronicles the career of former Miss Liberty; part II traces the career of the aging sixties Generation. This lively and informative collection features the professional and celebrity alike as they “reinvent” themselves, each in their own way. It is an intriguing look at how the fashion world keeps changing with age, how fashion can influence one’s personal life, how personal choices can influence one’s career, how a relationship can affect one’s self-image, and how these choices can influence age and height.
Sandra Chevrier takes a personal and painterly approach to her portraits, especially at the height of her career, where she is often seen with long, thinning hair and with her trademark lipstick. These are elements that we associate with the more “edgy” aspects of fashion. However, with each series of portraits, she manages to put a modern spin on the old-fashioned glamour. This results in a unique portrait of a woman who has evolved and grown through the decades but remains fundamentally the same individual.
Each series of The Perfume Museum: A Portrait focuses on a single decade or a single era. For example, the first set of portraits (set during the post-World War II era) traces the progression of the “Hollywood” look, from pixie-like cheekbones to fuller cheeks. Likewise, in the second set, the focus is on the fifties look, which meant using a more casual dress code and choosing more bold makeup. Finally, in the last group, the focus is on the seventies, with photographs that depict a more relaxed and carefree attitude about beauty. Throughout all these years, Sandra Chevrier has remained true to herself, and despite the transformations that age brings, she has remained, as ever, beautiful and appealing. Her paintings remain classic, which is another reason why they deserve the status of The Perfume Museum: A Portrait.