two, studied with Grosz at the school that Grosz set up with painter Maurice Sterne. In Grosz’ classes, Altina again encountered Salvador Dalí who came to make use of the model. Harlequin glasses frame Though she would continue to register patents for inventions until late in life, Schinasi's breakthrough came early on when she created and marketed the Harlequin eyeglass frame that defined glamour in the late 1930s. A walk down the street occasioned this design breakthrough; finding herself underwhelmed by the lackluster frames in an optician's window, Altina set out to create a frame that conveyed whimsy, mystery and romance. “Surely, there must be some way to design eyeglasses that could be attractive! What looks good on a face? What adds to a face? What could a woman wear on her face that would be romantic?” she wondered. Altina settled on the Harlequin mask as a starting point and began to cut masks into the frames she envisioned. Once she had set up production and negotiated deals with department stores, Schinasi opened an office where she oversaw marketing and distribution, later expanding her operation to the West Coast upon relocating to California. In 1939, Schinasi won the Lord & Taylor Annual American Design Award for her avant-garde transformation of the eyeglass frame into a proper fashion accessory. Vogue and Life magazines credited Schinasi with revolutionizing the eyewear industry and aesthetic. It was in California that her next creative phase would begin. California years In the 1940s, with hopes of spending more time on her art, Schinasi moved west to Los Angeles first expanding and finally selling her eyeglass concern. The move away from her business and New York allowed for a new level of commitment to her art. Having begun studies with Howard Warshaw at the Jepson School of Art in Los Angeles. Schinasi said, “I took a room in the house as my studio and put a sign on the door: ‘Do not come in unless there’s a catastrophe. I wanted to have three hours a day just to myself without interruption, and I really did work very hard.’” Schinasi began to paint in earnest and her large paintings were selected for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) juried show. In Los Angeles, Schinasi spent many years as a volunteer art therapist and muralist at experimental mental health center, Synanon. George Grosz' Interregnum (1960) It was