Artist: Alexandre Istrati (1915-1991)
Title:
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Size: 21" x 25 1/4" inches (54 x 64cm)
Date: 1976
Provenance: Estate of Louis & Annette Kaufman. Louis Kaufman (1905-1994) was a Romanian American Violinist, and possibly the most recorded musical artist of the 20th century. Kaufman, was the most sought-after violinist in Hollywood during 1930’s-50’s, and performed on the soundtrack of as many as 500 movies, including “Casablancaâ€, “Spartacusâ€, and other Oscar-winning films.
Kaufman was largely responsible for bringing the once-forgotten music of Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) to its current popularity worldwide. In 1947, Kaufman made the first commercial recording of a then little-known collection of violin concertos by Vivaldi called "The Four Seasons." This recording won the Grand Prix du Disque in 1951 and was elected to the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2002
Over the course of their life together, the Kaufmans built a major collection of impressionist and modern art, most of which was donated to the National Gallery of Art and Syracuse University. Their vast, eclectic, and well-informed collection of European, American and Latin art is noted for it’s attention to painterly qualities, color, and quality.
They developed many friendships with artists in Europe and the United States. Kaufman was the first person to buy an oil painting from American abstract expressionist Milton Avery, and he urged other collectors to follow suit. During their many stays in Paris during the 1950’s-60’s, the Kaufman’s collected art of the avant garde artists active in that era. This painting was likely purchased during that time.