George Barbier was one of the great French illustrators of the early 20th century. Barbier was 29 years old when he mounted his first exhibition in 1911 and was then swept to the forefront of his profession with commissions to design theatre and ballet costumes, to illustrate books, and to produce haute couture fashion illustrations. For the next 20 years he led a group from the Ecole des Beaux Arts, nicknamed by Vogue as "The Knights of the Bracelet" - a tribute to their fashionable and flamboyant mannerisms and style of dress. In the mid 1920s he worked with Erté to design sets and costumes for the Folies Bergère and achieved mainstream popularity through his regular appearances in L'Illustration'' magazine. Barbier died in 1932 at the very pinnacle of his success.