Flowers and fruit

Details

DAVID BURLIUK (1882-1967)
Flowers and fruit
signed and dated 'Burliuk 1951.' (lower left)
oil on canvas
25 x 18 in. (63.5 x 45.7 cm.)

Provenance

with ACA Galleries, New York.
Alfredo Valente (1899-1973).
Probably, Acquired from the above by the father of the present owner, circa 1970.

Literature

Exhibition catalogue, David Burliuk (1882-1967): Selections From Various Periods, New York, 1967, no. 42, listed p. 11.

Exhibited

New York, ACA Galleries, David Burliuk (1882-1967): Selections From Various Periods, 31 October-18 November, 1967, no. 42 (partial label on the reverse).
Probably, New York, The Gallery of Modern Art, 37 American Artists (Alfredo Valente collection), February-16 March 1969 (partial label on the reverse).

Special notice

This lot has been imported from outside of the UK for sale and placed under the Temporary Admission regime. Import VAT is payable at 5% on the hammer price. VAT at 20% will be added to the buyer’s premium but will not be shown separately on our invoice.

Conditions of sale

Brought to you by

Margo Oganesian Head of Department, Fabergé and Russian Works of Art

moganesian@christies.com +44 (0)20 7389 2783

Lot Essay

An esteemed photographer, Alfredo Valente (1899-1973) chronicled Broadway and remains best-known for his dramatic portraits of some the most famous ballet stars of the time, including Vera Zorina (1917-2003), Igor Youskevitch (1912-1994), Alicia Markova (1910-2004), André Eglevsky (1917-1977) and Hugh Laing (1911-1988). With close ties to the artistic community in New York, Valente naturally developed his interest in American painting, eventually accumulating a significant collection of artists including Raphael Soyer (1899-1987), Yasuo Kuniyoshi (1889-1953) and Ben Shahn (1898-1969) and opening his eponymous gallery at 119 W. 57th Street in Manhattan. The Alfredo Valente papers, 1941-1978, held at the Smithsonian Archives of American Art, include a photographic portrait of David Burliuk taken by Valente and dated ca. 1950, suggesting that the two may have been acquainted when the present lot, dated 1951, was painted.

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