Ernestine Marie Carter OBE (née Fantl; 10 October 1906 – 1 August 1983) was an American-born British museum curator, journalist, and fashion writer. She became hugely influential in her roles as women's editor, and later associate editor of The Sunday Times.
Ernestine Carter | |
|---|---|
 Carter in 1974 | |
| Born | Ernestine Marie Fantl 10 October 1906 |
| Died | 1 August 1983 (aged 76) Chelsea, London, UK |
| Education | Wellesley College |
| Occupation(s) | Museum curator, journalist, fashion editor |
| Known for |
|
| Spouse | John Waynflete Carter |
Her obituary described her as not only influencing British taste, but also putting her authority behind emerging fashion talent, becoming: "not only the acknowledged leader among women's fashion writers but also created a reputation for British fashion at a time when this country was considered a desert".[1] In particular, she was instrumental in adding her authority to bolster the growing reputation of designers such as Mary Quant, Jean Muir, Gina Fratini and John Bates.[1]
Early life and career
editErnestine Marie Fantl was born on 10 October 1906 in Savannah, Georgia, US, where she was brought up.[2] She studied modern and contemporary art and design at Wellesley College, Massachusetts, from which she graduated in 1927.[2] She started out as a curatorial assistant at the newly formed Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York City in 1932, and held the title Curator between 1935 and 1937.[2][3] As Ernestine M. Fantl, she curated these exhibitions at MOMA:
- 1935: Contemporary Architecture in California
- 1935: The Recent Work of Le Corbusier
- 1936: Posters by Cassandre
- 1936: Cubism and Abstract Art
- 1936: Architecture in Government Housing
- 1936: Exposition Architecture
- 1937: Modern Architecture in England
In 1936 she married a British antiquarian book dealer, John Waynflete Carter (1905-1975), and the Carters eventually moved to London.[2]
Wartime: 1939–1945
editDuring the Second World War Carter was employed by the British Ministry of Information.[3] She worked on exhibitions and edited a book of photographs by Lee Miller titled Grim Glory: Pictures of Britain Under Fire (published London, 1941).[4] The book, which included a foreword by Edward R. Murrow, went into five printings. Later in the war, Carter went to work for the U.S. office of war information in London.[2]
Post-war: 1946–1955
editCarter worked on the important design exhibition Britain Can Make It, organised by the Council of Industrial Design and held at the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1946.[2] That same year she became fashion editor for Harper's Bazaar.[5] Her first trip to Paris for the magazine was to report on Christian Dior's landmark New Look collection, launched 12 February 1947.[2][6] From 1952-54, she wrote her first newspaper column, a cookery section for The Observer, during which time she published a cookbook called Flash In The Pan (1953).[2]
Later career: 1955–1972
editIn 1955, Carter began editing the women's page of The Sunday Times.[5] She became well known for the high standard of her journalism and writing, and eventually became associate editor of the paper in 1968.[2] Carter's editorial team, including Moira Keenan, was credited with having changed the face of fashion reporting in newspapers, presenting articles that emphasised excellence of design at all price levels.[7] Carter encouraged the emergence of London as a major centre of fashion in the 1960s.[2] Her intelligent prose and high standards led to her being recognised as an authoritative figure in the world of fashion.[2] At a time when widespread intellectual snobbery led to the dismissal of fashion as a subject not worthy of serious consideration, Carter argued that fashion was "surely no more frivolous than architecture, to which it is closely related".[2][8]
In 1962, Carter was appointed to the National Council for Diplomas in Art and Design, a post awarded by the Minister of Education.[9] She was appointed an OBE in 1964.[10] In the same year, she became a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.[11]
In 1966, she was the first individual fashion journalist to be invited to select an outfit for the Dress Of The Year, for which she chose a futuristic PVC and linen ensemble by Michèle Rosier, Young Jaeger and Simone Mirman.[12] Two years later, she was appointed associate editor of The Sunday Times, a role she held until her retirement from the paper in 1972.[1]
Retirement and death
editAfter her retirement in 1972, Ernestine Carter wrote several books on fashion history (see Bibliography section). She died on 1 August 1983 at her home in Chelsea, London.[2]
Legacy
editThe Fashion Museum, Bath holds an important archive of more than 2000 fashion photographs from The Sunday Times during Carter's tenure there.[13] This is known both as the Ernestine Carter Collection and as The Sunday Times Fashion Archive.[14] The Fashion Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum both own garments from Carter's wardrobe.[2][15]
References
edit- ^ a b c "Mrs Ernestine Carter: influential writer on women's fashion". No. 61601. The Sunday Times. 3 August 1983.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Barbara Burman, ‘Carter, Ernestine Marie (1906–1983)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 30 May 2012
- ^ a b Department of Circulating Exhibitions Records in The Museum of Modern Art Archives; accessed 30 May 2012
- ^ Sorel, Nancy Caldwell. The Women Who Wrote the War: The Riveting Saga of World War II's Daredevil Women Correspondents, page 195. Arcade Publishing, 1999; ISBN 9781559704939
- ^ a b Evening dress worn by Ernestine Carter in the V&A Museum. Accessed 30 May 2012
- ^ Benoit, Marie. Christian Dior: Couturier and perfumer, The Malta Independent Online, 4 December 2010; accessed 30 May 2012
- ^ Lester, Richard (2013). Dress of the year. Antique Collectors' Club. pp. 57–58. ISBN 9781851497256.
- ^ Carter, Ernestine, With Tongue in Chic (London, 1974) ISBN 978-0-7181-1298-1
- ^ "News in brief". No. 55443. Sunday Times. 14 July 1962.
- ^ Supplement to the London Gazette, 13 June 1964, page 4948; accessed 30 May 2012
- ^ "New Fellows of RSA". No. 56196. The Sunday Times. 16 December 1964.
- ^ Dress of the Year, 1966 Accessed 30 May 2012.
- ^ Bath's Fashion Museum to host 1960s display this March, BBC News; accessed 30 May 2012
- ^ Fashion Museum – Fashion photographs Archived 7 November 2012 at the Wayback Machine; accessed 30 May 2012
- ^ Garments worn by Ernestine Carter profile, V&A collection; accessed 30 May 2012
Bibliography
editCookery
edit- Flash In The Pan (1953)
Fashion history
edit- 20th Century Fashion: a Scrapbook (1975)
- The Changing World of Fashion (1977)
- Magic Names of Fashion (1980)
Autobiography
edit- With Tongue in Chic (1974)