Helena Rubinstein holding one of her masks from the Ivory Coast, 1934. Photograph by George Maillard Kesslere. Helena Rubinstein Foundation Archives, Fashion Institute of Technology, SUNY, Gladys Marcus Library, Special Collections

Helena Rubinstein in the library of her Paris apartment on the Ile St.-Louis, 1951. On display is a fraction of her extraordinary collection of African and Oceanic art. Helena Rubinstein Foundation Archives, Fashion Institute of Technology, SUNY, Gladys Marcus Library, Special Collections

Bete or Guro male and female pair of combs, Ivory Coast, date unknown. Wood, 9 3/4 in. (24.8 cm) high each. Private Collection, New York

Fang reliquary head Gabon, nineteenth century. Wood, 13 3⁄4 in. (34.9 cm) high. Private collection

Punu face mask (mukudj) Gabon, date unknown. Wood, kaolin, and pigment 12 1⁄2 in. (31.8 cm) high. Courtesy of The Kreeger Museum, Washington, DC

Helena Rubinstein in front of a montage of some of the many portraits she commissioned throughout her life; clockwise from top right: Roberto Montenegro, 1941; Cândido Portinari, 1939; Marie Laurencin, 1934; Margherita Russo, 1953; Pavel Tchelitchew, 1934; Christian Bérard, 1938; and Graham Sutherland, 1957. Helena Rubinstein Foundation Archives, Fashion Institute of Technology, SUNY, Gladys Marcus Library, Special Collections

Graham Sutherland, Helena Rubinstein in a Red Brocade Balenciaga Gown, 1957. Oil on canvas, 61 3⁄4 × 36 1⁄2 in. (156.9 × 92.7 cm). Daniel Katz Gallery, London © Estate of Graham Sutherland

Pablo Picasso, Portrait of Helena Rubinstein XIX 27-11-1955, 1955. Conté crayon on paper, 17 1/4 x 12 5/8 in. (43.8 x 32.1 cm). Himeji City Museum of Art, Japan. © 2014 Estate of Pablo Picasso / Artist Rights Society (ARS), New York.

Andy Warhol, Madame Rubinstein in Kyoto, Japan, 1957. Ink with white highlights on paper, 16 3/4 x 22 in. (42.5 x 55.9 cm). Williams College Museum of Art, Gift of Richard F. Holmes, Class of 1946 © 2014 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Fernand Léger, Interior, study for The Three Women, 1921. Watercolor on paperboard, 9 7⁄8 × 12 1⁄4 in. (25.1 × 31.1 cm). The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Gift of Madame Helena Rubinstein © 2014 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris

Elie Nadelman, Head of a Woman, c. 1907–8. Bronze on marble base, 13 1⁄2 in. (34.3 cm) high. Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, Gift of Joseph H. Hirshhorn, 1966 © Estate of Elie Nadelman

Your Cosmetic Portrait pamphlet, 1935 Photograph by Bradford Robotham