Anatoly Timofeevich Zverev, 1931-1986

Collection of Edward Spizman, London

Zverev’s subject matter ranged from self-portraits, portraits to landscapes. He painted in what can be loosely termed an "expressionist" style, employing spontaneous strokes and patches of bold colour to build up an image. ‘Pine Trees’ is an early work, painted on a sack with the addition to the paint of tree sap. He often chose objects lying around to assist him in the creation of a composition. Igor Markevich, the Swiss conductor and a collector of works by Zverev once watched him "finishing a painting with a lilac branch, retouching this admirably with a piece of white cheese", Sjeklocha and Mead, Unofficial Art in the Soviet Union, Los Angeles, 1967, p.152