MASTERPIECES

YAKOVLEV Vladimir Igorevich (1934–1998) Portrait of the father in his youth. 1970s. Gouache on paper. 62.2 × 62.8

A portrait of the father in form and a portrait of the wind in spirit. And, believe me, Igor Yakovlev was thrown by fate. It is a miracle he was not shot. The romantic Igor Yakovlev decided to return to the USSR from France, where his artist father had taken him after the revolution. He took him away, but his son wanted to build communism. So he boarded a steamboat. The friend with whom he arrived was shot, and Igor Yakovlev himself was sent to work on construction sites. One could say he was lucky. Eventually builder Yakovlev and his family moved to Moscow.

The history of this gouache can be traced back to 1969, when it was acquired by the American collector Arthur Odum. In the U.S., this piece participated in the exhibition «Russian Painting of the 1960s, «was published in a catalog in 1990. “The work under study belongs to a rare cycle of Yakovlev's works painted in pointillé. Such pieces from the late 1960s, executed at such a high level, are a great rarity... This is certainly a creative success of Vladimir Yakovlev... It is a monument to Moscow's unofficial art...” These are quotations from Valery Silaev's expertise.

ZVEREV Anatoly Timofeevich (1931–1986) Cat. 1958. Paper, ink, watercolor, whitewash. 60 × 43

A unique early work, executed in the Tashist manner, typical for that period — temperamentally, with sharp strokes and brushstrokes. Expert Valery Silaev believes that the watercolor “Cat” is a unique work by Zverev of the best period of his creativity, which has museum value.

Zverev loved animals, enjoyed their grace and plasticity. It is no coincidence that collectors appreciate his virtuoso quick drawings, which he did in the Moscow zoo. He made such graphics for the soul. And “Cat” is definitely one of this series. This is 1958, the most valuable period. Most of the drawings from this period were exported abroad and settled in foreign collections.

1960s UNOFFICIAL ART

PURYGIN Leonid Anatolyevich (1951–1995) Pipa. 1980–1990. Hardboard, oil. 25 × 18

“Wow! It's Pipa!” All with one voice. Both experts and connoisseurs of the artist's work. Well, of course. “Pipa Puryginskaya” is an invented “deity” from the artist's fantasy world. Pipa is a kind of female demon, a harpy in charge of the material world. The opposite of Pipa is Purygin's “Blue Woman”, personifying the angelic principle, protecting him from destructive passions.

The works of “Lenya Purygin the Genius from Nara” are in high demand today. “Russian Bosch” is the creator of a special world inhabited by metaphorical characters. The emergence of this imagery occurred after the clinical death, which the artist experienced at the age of 18 after a suicide attempt. Purygin died young, from a heart attack, at the age of 44. The self-taught artist from the drawing circle of the Culture Club of Naro-Fominsk is today one of the most expensive artists of post-war unofficial art. The auction record for his work is $ 177,000.

RABIN Oscar Yakovlevich (1928–2018) Landscape with a herring. 1978. Paper, pastel, charcoal, mixed media. 37 × 54

This is an example of that very nostalgic post-emigration Rabin. This is 1978 — the year of deprivation of Soviet citizenship and the first year in France. But the theme is Russian — our huts, our herring. The quality is fantastic — elaboration, swiftness, depth. All at the highest level. The drawing is signed. And on the back there is a dedicatory inscription.

STEINBERG Eduard Arkadievich (1937–2012) Composition. 1999. Oil on canvas. 70.5 × 70.5

Classic geometric Steinberg of the Parisian period, during the collaboration with the Claude Bernard Gallery. Eduard Steinberg was close to the group of Sretensky Boulevard, which included Kabakov, Bulatov, Sooster, Yankilevsky. He participated in exhibitions in the “Friendship” House in 1967, in the exhibition in the pavilion “Beekeeping” in 1975. Several years ago, in his beloved Tarusa, under the auspices of the Pushkin Museum, a house-museum of the artist was established.

NESTEROVA Natalia Igorevna (1944) Still life with fruit. Canvas, oil. Diameter 25.5cm

Aesthetic textured oil by the “amazon of the left Moscow Union of Artists”. Natalia Nesterova did not participate in prohibited exhibitions. But in the era of victorious socialist realism, her original neoprimitivism was so out of touch that by the very fact of its existence it was aesthetically opposed to official art.

RUSSIAN ABROAD

BURLIUK David Davidovich (1882–1967) Morocco. 1954. Oil on hardboard. 30 × 70

And again Burliuk. 1950s. The father of Russian futurism has been living in America for more than 20 years. And then he was going on a trip to Europe and the Mediterranean. On his cruise he made a lot of postcard drawings, which depict the local color. Our oil is obviously painted from memories from that trip to the shores of northern Africa.