Altina Schinasi

Altina Schinasi (August 4, 1907 – August 19, 1999) was an American artist, designer, filmmaker, and philanthropist of Sephardic Jewish descent, best known for inventing the Harlequin eyeglass frame in the late 1920s, which popularized the cat-eye style for women. Born in New York City to parents who emigrated from the Ottoman Empire, Schinasi drew inspiration for her eyewear design from Venetian harlequin masks, aiming to transform utilitarian glasses into fashionable accessories after observing the drab frames available in the 1930s. Her innovation earned the Lord & Taylor Annual American Design Award in 1939 and was later worn by icons such as Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn, influencing eyewear trends through the mid-20th century.

Schinasi's multifaceted career extended beyond design into visual arts, sculpture, and documentary filmmaking; she studied at the Art Students League of New York and collaborated on window displays with Salvador Dalí at Bonwit Teller. In the 1960s, she directed George Grosz’ Interregnum, a short film nominated for an Academy Award and awarded first prize at the Venice Film Festival, showcasing her mentorship under artist George Grosz. Later, she created "chairacters," hybrid sculptures of chairs embodying human forms, which gained media attention in outlets like the Los Angeles Times Magazine.

A committed activist, Schinasi supported civil rights causes, meeting Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and Ralph Abernathy to develop a documentary on the 1963 March on Washington, and she provided affidavits for Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi persecution. As a single mother of two sons and volunteer art therapist, she channeled her resources into social justice, education, and the arts, establishing a foundation to perpetuate her philanthropic vision.