Pavel Fedorovich Tchelitchew (Russian, 1898–1957), an oil on canvas painting "Head," ca. 1949. Housed in a gilt wood Whistler frame. Variously labeled on the reverse.

Provenance: IMPORTANT RUSSIAN ART Sotheby's New York, November 4, 2010, lot 37, illustrated.

Note: Pavel Tchelitchew is a Russian, American artist, known for Abstract figures, portraits, and fantasy. A Russian-born painter and stage designer, Pavel Tchelitchew worked in many styles, changing several times and doing much experimentation. He was especially known for his almost surrealist renderings of the human body without its skin, similar to anatomical studies. He began as a Cubist and did modernist figure paintings in the style of Picasso and then moved on to Neo-Romanticism and Surrealism. He was the founder of mystical surrealism 9 years before Salvador Dali.

32 x 23 1/2 in., (81 x 59.7 cm.)