Attributed to David Burliuk, it does not have a COA. Medium: oil canvas. 32.5 x 28.5 inches. Provenance: private owner.
Biography: 1882 - 1967. During the 1940s and early 50s there was group of painters who lived and worked in New York City and were socially connected, regularly meeting to discuss and argue their art and their artistic vision.Amongst them were David Burliuk, Archille Gorky, Barnett Newman, Mark Rothko, John Graham,Milton Avery, Adolph Gotlieb and many others. Rothko and Burliuk often went to the Russian club for a drink, and to have good arguments about Art.Burliuk also participated with some of these artists in various group exhibitions, for example,̢ۉ㢠The Ten̢ۉ㢠in 1940 and the ACA Gallery.What this group had in common, apart from art, was that they all had East European roots.Jackson Pollock was frequent visitor at Burliuk's country house in the Hamptons, as they were neighbors, and he was at the Burliuk house a few nights before Pollock's tragic death. There was also a large artist colony around Hampton Bay during 1940-50s, who often came to see Burliuk,as his door was always open.It might seem strange now but David Burliuk was, at that time, the most important and most successful member of the group and as such, often purchased artworks from others artist who were struggling.Avery, Graham and Gorky painted portraits of David Burliuk and also his wife Marussia.It is well recorded that Archille Gorky, a really close friend of David, committed suicide in 1948 as it was such a struggle for him to make a living from his art.That suicide sent Barnett Newman into a deep depression as he and Gorky were close friends, and also found very hard to sell any paintings until early 1960.As David Burliuk was not only a painter, but a generous patron and lover of art, he also bought works from the Soyer brothers, Nikolai Fechin, Cikovsky, Konchalovsky and many other lesser known artists.Hence the Burliuk family has a large collection of art from many artists of this period.My grandfather owned and lived with his family in a large house in Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn until 1954.In 1982 for David Burliuk Centenary year, Russian government issued a special stamp in his memory as one of the greatest Russian artists of all time.In Russian poetry, Burliuk is regarded as a trailblazer. In 1990, the Russian Academy of Futurist Poetry established the David Burliuk Prize (Otmetina) for experimental poetry, awarded annually.In 2009 the Russian State organized a large exhibition of American Artists from the Russian Empire; the exhibition was part of a series devoted to the Art of Russian Emigres. Amongst the artists represented were the works of David Burliuk, Mark Rothko, John Graham, Arshille Gorky, Max Weber and Nikolai Fechin.It was a perfect epitaph for old friends united one more time with their masterpieces which will live on.

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Signed [Artist Name] : In cases in which the signature is legible in the lot, this work is described as-is with no attributions given.

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In the manner of [Artist Name] : The work was executed by an unknown hand, but was designed deliberately to emulate the style of the artist.

After [Artist Name] : The work was executed by an unknown hand, but is a deliberate copy of a known work by the artist.

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American, 19th century: This work was executed by an unknown hand, and can only be identified by origin (i.e., region, period).

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