/internal/media/dispatcher/1146471/resize%25253Aformat%25253DthumbnailDesign for three ballerina brooches for Seaman Schepps1939–45Jordine TurboffSeaman ScheppsHeight x width: 15.8 x 13 cm (6 1/4 x 5 1/8 in.)Watercolor, gouache, and pencil on paperMuseum purchase with funds donated by Jean S. and Frederic A. Sharf2009.46360This drawing illustrates three platinum brooches, each of ballerinas with skirts, shoes, and jewelry set with white stones. Each is in a different pose. One is decorated with red stones, another with green stones, and the third seems only to contain white stones.
This design was created by Jordine Turboff who came from Russia as a small child and grew up in Brooklyn, New York where she attended Pratt University. She worked for Seaman Schepps from 1939-1945, and her clients ranged from movie stars such as Marlene Dietrich, the Barrymores, Errol Flynn (who would often flirt with her), and Merle Oberon, to Eleanor Roosevelt and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. She would often say that Mrs. Simpson had a taste for the richest stones and for the simplest designs. Whe she left Schepps in 1945, Mr. Schepps gave her these drawings (production and finished) as a wedding present. The lot represents only a fraction of her work. After leaving Schepps, Ms. Turboff concentrated on her painting, then using her married and middle name "Yari Levine" and is listed in many publications, including Who's Who in American Women.Jewelry / Adornment15.800000000053157801