MacDougall's Russian Art Auctions 1 December 2011
1 December 2011
* 44. SAMOKHVALOV, ALEXANDER (1894-1971)
Sand Extraction Pit in Leschinovka, inscribed with the artist's name, titled in Cyrillic, dated 1936 and further inscribed with an authentication by V. Proshkin on the reverse.
Oil on canvas, 58 by 89 cm.
60,000-90,000 GBP
Authenticity of the work has been confirmed by the experts O. Shikhireva and A. Lyubimova.
Alexander Samokhvalov’s Sand Extraction Pit in Leschinovka has its own little history. In the summer of 1936, artists Victor Proshkin and Victoria Belakovskaya invited their close friend Alexander Samokhvalov to visit the little town of Leschinovka, in Ukraine. As Proshkin’s son Vladimir recalls, “the friends left starving Leningrad to fill their stomachs, since there was not much to paint there...” Samokhvalov completed a few large studies of the sand extraction pit. As a true aficionado of industrial motifs, he was captivated by the pictorial qualities of the sand extraction process, the beautiful, nuanced variations in the warm ochre tones and the rhythm of the juxtaposed areas of flowing sand. The artist’s abrupt, bristly brushwork was the best possible technique for conveying a lifelike image of the “sand-quarrying show”. Tiny, lightly sketched-in staffage figures bring the work to life, elevating it to the status of a genre composition.
Notes on symbols:
* Indicates 5% Import Duty Charge applies.
Ω Indicates 20% Import Duty Charge applies.
§ Indicates Artist's Resale Right applies.
† Indicates Standard VAT scheme applies, and the rate of 20% VAT will be charged on both hammer price and premium.