Gouache on paper, framed. Featuring a Cubist portrait. Signed and attr. Nadezhda Udaltsova (Russian, 1886-1961) on the upper left corner. Nadezhda Andreevna Udaltsova was a Russian avant-garde artist (Cubist, Suprematist), painter and teacher. Udaltsova's professional debut was as a participant in a Jack of Diamonds exhibition in Moscow in the winter of 1914. But it was in 1915 that she really made her name as a Cubist artist, participating in three major exhibitions in that single year, including "Tramway V" (February), "Exhibition of Leftist Tendencies" (April), and "The Last Futurist Exhibition: 0.10" (December). Her paintings were subsequently collected and exhibited in the 1920s by the Tretiakov Gallery, the Russian Museum, and other venues as examples of Russian Cubism. Under the influence of Tatlin, Udaltsova experimented with Constructivism, but eventually embraced the more painterly approach of the Supremacist movement. In 1916, she participated with other Supremacist artists in a Jack of Diamonds exhibition, and during that same time period she joined Kazimir Malevich's Supremus group. In 1915–1916, together with other suprematist artists (Kazimir Malevich, Aleksandra Ekster, Liubov Popova, Nina Genke, Olga Rozanova, Ivan Kliun, Ivan Puni, Ksenia Boguslavskaya and others) worked at the Verbovka Village Folk Centre. In the early 1920s, Udaltsova's work began to show a turn away from the radical avant-garde and a sensibility more aligned with artists associated with the Jack of Diamonds, among them Ilya Mashkov, Petr Konchalovsky and Aristarkh Lentulov, exhibiting her Fauvist portraits and landscapes alongside them at the Vkhutemas "Exhibition of Paintings" of 1923 and also at the Venice "Biennale" of 1924. She also continued to teach, including instruction in textile design at Vhkutemas and the Textile Institute in Moscow from 1920 until 1930. Under the influence of Drevin, Udaltsova returned to nature and began painting landscapes. Between 1926 and 1934 they traveled widely, painting the Ural and Altai Mountains, as well as landscapes in Armenia and Central Asia. From 1927 to 1935, she contributed to national and international exhibitions and participated with Drevin in joint exhibitions at the Russian Museum (1928) and in Erevan, Armenia (1934). PROVENANCE: Southern Ontario estate. 38 x 19 cm (15 x 7.8 in.). Frame size: 45 x 25.5 cm (17.7 x 10 in.)

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By [Artist Name]: In our opinion, the work is by the artist.

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

After [Artist Name]: In our opinion, 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: In our opinion, this work was executed by an unknown hand, and can only be identified by origin (i.e., region, period).

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Apocryphal: Of doubtful authenticity.