ChirpBlog

Altina Schinasi was a remarkable American sculptor, filmmaker, entrepreneur, designer, and inventor who revolutionized the world of eyewear and fashion with her iconic cat-eye glasses. She was also a passionate artist who created vibrant paintings, sculptures, and films that reflected her vision and values. She was a trailblazer who defied conventions and pursued her dreams with courage and creativity. Here are some facts about her life and legacy.

Contents

Early Life & Education

Altina Schinasi was born on August 4, 1907, in Manhattan, New York to immigrant parents. Her father, Morris Schinasi, was a Sephardic Jewish Turk who made his fortune in the international fine tobacco business. Her mother, Laurette Schinasi, was a native of Salonica (then in the Ottoman Empire) and a granddaughter of his business partner. Altina was the youngest of three daughters and grew up in a luxurious mansion on the Upper West Side.

Altina Schinasi was tutored at home until she was 12 years old when she left to board at Dana Hall School in Wellesley, Massachusetts. After graduating from high school, she moved to Paris with her mother and sister to study painting with her cousin René Bensussan. She developed a deep appreciation for the arts and decided to pursue a career as an artist. She returned to New York and enrolled at The Art Students League, where she studied with Samuel Halpert at the Roerich Museum.

Career and Achievements

Altina Schinasi began her career as a window display designer for Fifth Avenue stores, where she worked with prominent artists such as Salvador Dalí and George Grosz. She also learned from them at an art class run by Grosz at the Art Students League. She was inspired by their innovative and expressive styles and experimented with different media and techniques.

One day, while walking down the street, she noticed that the existing frames of glasses for women were dull and boring. She decided to create a new design that would be more flattering and fashionable. She was influenced by the Harlequin masks that she saw people wearing in Venice during the Carnevale festival and came up with the idea of cat-eye glasses. She cut paper demos of her design and tried to find a manufacturer who would produce them.

However, she faced many rejections from the major manufacturers who thought her design was too edgy and risky. She did not give up and approached a local shop owner named Lugene on Madison Avenue who agreed to sell her glasses. Her first customer was writer Clare Boothe Luce who bought a pair of red cat-eye glasses. Soon, her glasses became a sensation and a symbol of glamour in the late 1930s and early 1940s. They were worn by celebrities such as Lucille Ball, Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, and Elizabeth Taylor.

Altina Schinasi sold her eyewear company in the mid-1940s and moved to Los Angeles with her first husband Morris B. Sanders, an architect whom she married in 1928. They had two sons, Terry Sanders and Denis Sanders, both of whom became film directors. Altina continued to paint and sculpt in Los Angeles and exhibited her work at various galleries and museums. She also ventured into filmmaking and produced several documentaries on social issues such as racism, poverty, war, and human rights.

One of her notable films was George Grosz’ Interregnum (1960), which was based on the life and work of her former teacher George Grosz who fled Nazi Germany in 1932. The film won the Golden Lion award at the Venice Film Festival in 1961. Another film that she produced was Operation Bootstrap (1968), which documented the industrialization of Puerto Rico after World War II.

Altina Schinasi also wrote a memoir titled The Road I Have Travelled (1995), in which she shared her personal and professional experiences as an artist and an activist. She also volunteered as an art therapist for children with disabilities and refugees.

Parents & Siblings

Altina Schinasi had a very interesting family background and heritage. She was the youngest of three daughters born to Morris Schinasi and Laurette Schinasi, who were both immigrants from the Ottoman Empire. Her father was a Sephardic Jewish Turk who made his fortune in the international fine tobacco business. He built a luxurious mansion on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, where Altina grew up.

Her mother was a native of Salonica, which is now part of Greece. She was the granddaughter of Joseph Ben Rubi, who was Morris Schinasi’s business partner. Altina’s parents were very supportive of her artistic pursuits and encouraged her to study painting in Paris and New York.

Altina had two sisters, Renee and Yvonne, who were also involved in the arts. Renee was a painter and a sculptor, who married René Bensussan, Altina’s cousin and teacher. Yvonne was a pianist and a composer, who married George Antheil, a famous avant-garde musician. Altina and her sisters were very close and often collaborated on various projects.

Personal Life, Husband & Kids

Altina Schinasi married four times in her life. Her first husband was Morris B. Sanders whom she divorced in 1951 after 23 years of marriage. Her second husband was Theodore Lutz whom she married in 1952 but separated from shortly after. Her third husband was Dennis Miranda whom she married in 1955 but divorced in 1979. Her fourth and final husband was Celestino Miranda whom she married in 1981 when she was 74 years old.

Death Cause

Altina Schinasi died on August 19, 1999, at the age of 92 in Santa Fe, New Mexico where she lived with Celestino Miranda until his death in 1997. She is survived by her two sons Terry Sanders and Denis Sanders, four grandchildren Peter Sanders, Victoria Sanders, Jessica Sanders, and Julia Miranda-Sanders, and two great-grandchildren.

Google Doodle

On August 4, 2023, Google celebrated the 116th birthday of Altina Schinasi with a doodle that featured her face inside a cat-eye frame. The doodle was designed by guest artist Sophie Diao who said that she wanted to capture Altina’s “bold and playful spirit”. The doodle also highlighted Altina’s diverse artistic talents and interests by showing some of her paintings, sculptures, and films in the background.

The doodle was a tribute to Altina’s legacy as a pioneer of eyewear design and a versatile artist who used her creativity to make a positive impact on the world. The doodle also aimed to inspire people to follow their passions and express themselves freely.

BIO/WIKI

Facts About Altina Schinasi

• Altina Schinasi was the youngest child of the Schinasi family who owned a tobacco empire and a mansion on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.
• Altina Schinasi studied painting in Paris and New York and learned from famous artists such as Salvador Dalí and George Grosz.
• Altina Schinasi invented the cat-eye glasses in the late 1930s after being dissatisfied with the existing frames for women. She called them Harlequin glasses after the Italian mask that inspired her design.
• Altina faced many rejections from the major manufacturers who thought her glasses were too edgy and risky. She finally found a local shop owner who agreed to sell them and they became a sensation and a symbol of glamour.

• Altina Schinasi sold her eyewear company in the mid-1940s and moved to Los Angeles where she continued to paint and sculpt. She also ventured into filmmaking and produced several documentaries on social issues.
• Altina won the Golden Lion award at the Venice Film Festival in 1961 for her film George Grosz’ Interregnum which was based on the life and work of her former teacher George Grosz who fled Nazi Germany in 1932.
• Schinasi wrote a memoir titled The Road I Have Travelled in 1995 in which she shared her personal and professional experiences as an artist and an activist.
• Altina Schinasi married four times in her life. Her first husband was Morris B. Sanders, an architect whom she married in 1928. They had two sons Terry Sanders and Denis Sanders who both became film directors.

• Schinasi’s second husband was Theodore Lutz whom she married in 1952 but separated from shortly after. Her third husband was Dennis Miranda whom she married in 1955 but divorced in 1979.
• Altina Schinasi’s fourth and final husband was Celestino Miranda whom she married in 1981 when she was 74 years old. He was a painter who shared her artistic passion and vision.
• Altina died on August 19, 1999, at the age of 92 in Santa Fe, New Mexico where she lived with Celestino Miranda until his death in 1997.
• Altina was honored by Google with a doodle on her 116th birthday on August 4, 2023. The doodle featured her face inside a cat-eye frame and highlighted her diverse artistic talents and interests.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7pb7ErJ%2BaqpVjsLC5jpqjraGelnq0r8eipZqrmWQ%3D