MASTERPIECES

WEISBERG Vladimir Grigorievich (1924–1985) Lying nude. 1977. Watercolor and pencil on paper. 32.5 × 49.5 (in light)

“Flawless Weisberg!” — this is exactly how Valery Silaev described this watercolour. And here it is difficult to disagree. One of the favorite subjects of the Freudian, the ideologist of psychophysiology in painting, is nude in space. And, of course, the signature technique of the “Russian Morandi” is the immersion of a character or object in an atmosphere cleansed of everything superfluous. This watercolor has it all. The secret of whiteness. “Invisible” colors. Cold silence. And even the model's face in his system should not distract from immersion in this infinity. Weisberg is a phenomenally subtle colorist who works painstakingly and precisely. His “white on white” is actually a complex combination of colors, “stretching” the palette, a laborious technique. After the sessions of creating “white on white” Weisberg had to go to a dark room for a long time, so that the eyes have a rest from overexertion after working with similar colors.

It is customary to include the name of Vladimir Weisberg in the clip of artists of unofficial art. Although in fact he kept aloof, avoiding bold public gestures, political alliances and confrontation with the authorities. The artist is expensive and important. His works are a real decoration of the collection. The record for his work was set in 2007 at Sotheby's — 363 thousand dollars. By the way, also for “Nude”, only not watercolor, but oil.

GROSITSKY Andrey Borisovich (1934–2017) An exhibit without a frame. 2004. Hardboard, oil. 97 × 53

Reference work of the “poet of things” Andrey Grositsky. The artist's element was the metaphysics of the objective world. Meat grinders, shovels, rusty latches and pieces of metal — seemingly simple household objects in Grositsky's reliefs turn into abstractions of stunning beauty and depth. One of the first important exhibitions of the artist was a group exhibition in the pavilion of the VDNKh Palace of Culture in 1975. At that time, those wishing to get to the exhibition of unofficial artists lined up in a kilometer-long queue. Then the City Committee of Graphic Artists on Malaya Gruzinskaya became the home of Grositsky and many other underground workers. The first personal exhibition of Grositsky took place when he was 54 years old. Then there was the Tretyakov Gallery, an important retrospective at the Museum of Moscow in 2015, catalogs, exhibitions, articles. Grositsky was lucky enough to live to see recognition. He can certainly be called a collector's favorite these days.His reliefs are traded in galleries and competed at auctions. The painting is excellent, the price is good, and now there is a great opportunity for someone to strengthen their collection.

NONCONFORMIST ART

PIVOVAROV Viktor Dmitrievich (1937) Composition with a brown triangle. 1981. Paper, colored pencils. 24.7 × 26.6 (in light)

Viktor Pivovarov needs no introduction. He was a member of the Sretensky Boulevard group — an informal community of like-minded people, which included Kabakov, Sooster, Yankilevsky, writer Vladimir Sorokin and others. Young Pavel Pivovarov, the artist's son, known today as Pavel Pepperstein, gained wisdom with them there.

Pivovarov entered the history of unofficial art as a bright conceptualist, philosopher and independent artist who never shied away from bold imagery. And at the same time, even during the Soviet era, he was a well-provided successful book graphic artist, the author of the logo for the children's magazine “Funny Pictures”. From Pivovarov's works, the current auction also includes a signature collectible porcelain plate “I didn't touch Anything”, an author's copy from a tiny 2007 edition.

SOOSTER Ülo Ilmar (1924–1970) Composition. 1969. Paper, gouache, pastel. 27 × 19

Another artist of the Sretensky Boulevard group. A rare, expensive artist and infrequent guest at auctions. For those who yearn for the old days, here's an example of a broken fate. In 1949, student Sooster, along with friends from the Tartu Art Institute, was sent to a prison camp under the 58th “anti-Soviet” article. The sentence was ten years, seven in the camp, released in 1956. After the camp, Sooster married the “American spy” Lydia Sterkh and found a job in Moscow. He earned money with magazine illustrations, made drawings for science fiction and articles in the magazine “Knowledge is Power”. Sooster’s house became a center of attraction for the Moscow intelligentsia. His Tuesdays were attended by Sobolev-Nolev, Kabakov, Pivovarov, Neizvestny and others.

Today we are looking at an exemplary thing — a blue surreal composition of 1969. With the expert opinion of Valery Silaev.

ZVEREV Anatoly Timofeevich (1931–1986) Shashlik. 1965. Oil on paper. 59 × 42.5

Here, pay attention to the year and plot. This is an early Zverev, 1965. The picture turns out to be 55 years old. And the plot is good. This is not a usual portrait, but an inspired still life. Before us is a barbecue with a bottle of wine. Favorite holiday of the Soviet people. Zverev is clearly in the good mood here. He works easily and masterly. The authenticity of the oil is confirmed by the expert opinion of Valery Silaev.

ARTISTS OF RUSSIAN ABROAD

GONCHAROVA Natalia Sergeevna (1881–1962) Sketch of a woman's costume. 1920s. Tracing paper on cardboard, charcoal. 78.7 × 20 (tracing paper). 86 × 26 (cardboard)

A few years ago, Natalia Goncharova was officially considered the most expensive female artist in the world with an auction result of 11 million dollars. Not in Russia, but in the world. Later she was overtaken by the sculptor Louise Bourgeois. But we do remember. Goncharova went down in history as the Amazon of the avant-garde, the author of innovative cubist and luchist compositions. And the echoes of these methods are present even in this sketch. This is the 1920s, the period of Goncharova's work with Parisian fashion houses. At that time, her sketches were published by the leading fashion magazines — Vogue and Vanity Fair. Before us is a women's suit, pret-a-porter. And a lively illustration of the influence of avant-garde art on fashion. Even then, it was clear that cubism changed the optics of the viewer and the buyer of clothing. The artists provided a bold breakthrough, and then the fashion designers stepped in. The authenticity of Goncharova's work is confirmed by the expertise of E. A. Ilyukhina.

LAPCHINE Georges (1885–1950) Landscape with a sailing boat. Les Martigues. 1920–1930s. Canvas, oil. 50 × 99.5

Georgy Alexandrovich, Georges Lapchine. A well-known Russian Parisian. Member of the Salons of Independent, the impressionist. Before us is a gorgeous work — a view of Martigues, a resort town on the French Riviera, where artists and representatives of the film industry loved to settle. Meter-sized work, museum level. The expert opinion was made at the Grabar center by Anna Kiseleva and Irina Gerashchenko.