Description:

STUDY FROM LIFE OF A STALIN PORTRAIT - ANNOTATED AND POSSIBLY INITIALED BY STALIN
JOSEF STALIN (1879-1953) Soviet Premier and dictator who reorganized the government and army through bloody purges of his political enemies, allied with the Nazis who then turned on him and invaded the Soviet Union, costing 20 million lives. A watercolor portrait from life of Stalin, used as a study for a later portrait, likely post 1945. The final portrait was used in official posters and likely retained by Stalin himself . This watercolor image is also annotated by the dictator, and bears what could be his initials! This finely-executed watercolor is on heavy stock measuring 7 1/2" x 9 3/4". It depicts Stalin in military uniform from the chest, up and laden with eight medals. The painting is pencil signed at bottom, and bears Cyrillic notes in red indelible pencil at upper-left. We found a nearly identical painting while searching online (copy included) - the pose, medals, and angles are almost exactly alike, though on neither piece can we determine the artist. The intriguing thing is that Stalin used a red indelible pencil of the same hue and is well known for marking up images of all kinds. The slant and letter formation on this painting is very similar to Stalin's and we see no reason why anyone would ruin a fine portrait by marking it in this way - unless Stalin had made a note to himself or the artist on this proof. The note bears what appears to be a set of initials, the first letter closely approximating the first letter in Stalin's signature. The watercolor was undertaken by prominent Russian-Ukrainian painter Mikhail M. Bozhiy (1911-1990), a well-known artist specializing in portraits and large political posters. He often painted Stalin and his works are displayed in major Russian museums, including the Moscow Arts Museum and the Ukrainian Arts Museum in Kiev. Named a Meritorious Artist Ukr.SSR (1957), Member-Correspondent (1958), People's Artist of Ukraine (1960) and People's Artist of USSR (1963). Some soiling and tiny chips to the paint, still appealing and certainly worth of more research.

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July 21, 2011 11:30 AM EDT
Stamford, CT, US

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

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