Lillian Gish as Romola

Nicolai Fechin arrived in the United States in 1923 with his wife and young daughter and immediately immersed himself in the artist community of New York City. Fechin was already an established painter, having received invitations to exhibit at the Carnegie Institute in Pennsylvania, but new patronage now provided the artist with broader exposure and freedom to paint a variety of new subjects in his singularly distinct style. "Fechin exhibited his work at the Milch and Grand Central Galleries of New York, Vose Galleries of Boston, and at the Chicago Art Institute. A catalogue published by the Institute states, 'Fechin developed a style that was based on a late phase of Impressionism and soft focus photography popular in the late twenties.'" (M.N. Balcomb, Nicolai Fechin, San Cristobal, New Mexico, 1975, pp. 48, 50)

The present work depicts famed screen actrees Lillian Gish in her 1924 role of Romola. A favorite actress of director D.W. Griffith, Gish became one of Hollywood's top stars in the industry.