atelier

Etymology

Borrowed from French atelier, from Middle French astelier, from astelle (“small piece of wood, etc., to hold a broken bone in place, splint”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱs- (“axis; axle”)) + -ier (suffix denoting the location of an abode).

noun

1. A studio or workshop, especially for an artist, designer, or fashion house.
   The Dukes de Claulne, father and ſon, had laboratories for clock and vvatch making as vvell as for machinery. Theſe ateliers, as the French name them, vvere as fine and complete for the choice of tools as it vvas poſſible to find in Europe; […] 4 November 1792, W. Blakey, “[Mr. Blakey on Pendulums]”, in Sylvanus Urban [pseudonym], editor, The Gentleman’s Magazine: And Historical Chronicle, volume LXII, part II, number 5, London: […] John Nichols,[…]; [a]nd sold by Eliz[abeth] Newbery,[…], published November 1792, →OCLC, page 1005, column 1
   I paid a visit to the celebrated [Antonio] Canova in his vast and interesting atelier. He had been at Naples a short time before to form his own judgment of the situation intended for the equestrian statue of Napoleon, which we saw already almost finished in his atelier. 1839, Mathieu Dumas [i.e., Guillaume-Mathieu Dumas], chapter VI, in [anonymous], transl., Memoirs of His Own Time; including the Revolution, the Empire, and the Restoration.[…], volume II, London: Richard Bentley,[…], →OCLC, page 272
   At the meeting of the Society, February 6, it was stated that red glass was preferable to yellow for the windows of photographic ateliers. 8 May 1874, “Chemical News from Foreign Sources”, in William Crookes, editor, The Chemical News and Journal of Physical Science.[…], volume XXIX, number 754, London: Henry Gillman,[…], →OCLC, page 207, column 1
   Hats with transparent tulle and crêpe brims and hemp or leghorn crowns are succeeding the small martial styles of which this atelier made quite a feature earlier in the season. 1915 March, “Present Fad for Toques and Helmets Succeeded by Vogue for Second Empire Styles”, in The Illustrated Milliner, manufacturers’ edition, volume XVI, number 3, New York, N.Y.: The Illustrated Milliner Company, →OCLC, page 15, column 1
   Education opportunities improved with the advent of the Second Empire in 1850 and more ateliers began to take women students. But the atelier system, in which master painters trained a number of students in their studio, was a male-dominated world to which women's access was still restricted, even though the number of ateliers taking women increased – not just because not all artists would teach women, but because the atelier was itself a gendered social space that was not suitable for women. 1996, Reina Lewis, “Professional Opportunities for Women in Art and Literature”, in Race, Femininity and Representation, London, New York, N.Y.: Routledge, published 2003, page 59
   The first thing Diane did when she arrived home was to hurry into the atelier. She removed the half-finished portrait on the easel and replaced it with a blank canvas. She began to sketch the face of the man who had tried to kill her, but her hands were trembling so hard that she had to stop. 2004, Sidney Sheldon, chapter 1, in Are You Afraid of the Dark?, New York, N.Y.: William Morrow, page 11
   During the time Theyskens was presenting his precollection, a rumor began circulating in Paris: Procter & Gamble, the American conglomerate that owns Rochas, had decided to close the fashion branch of the company. Soon enough, the story was confirmed. The beautiful gowns would never be shown or produced; the atelier would be shuttered. […] ["T]he French world of fashion is being destroyed little by little. The French factories and ateliers were once dedicated to the little nuances. That luxurious approach and that refinement disappeared in the 80's and 90's, and I fear it may be disappearing again." 6 August 2006, Lynn Hirschberg, quoting Olivier Theyskens, “Is there a place for Olivier Theyskens?”, in The New York Times Magazine, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2017-02-02