Klavdi Vasilievich Lebedev, 1852-1916

St. Louis World's Fair, Louisianna Purchase Exhibition, 1904

Original canvas, which has four patches of various sizes on the reverse. The canvas is a little slack on the stretcher. There is layer of light surface dirt and fine lines of craquelure throughout. There is some light rubbing to the paint surface along the inner frame edge. Examination under UV light reveals some flecks of recent retouching in places and fluorescing areas of pigment (e.g. pink table cloth). Held in a gold painted moulded plaster frame and under glass, unexamined out of frame.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The reverse with the label of the World's Fair, St. Louis, 1904, Louisianna Purchase Exhibition Company, Counsellor of Commerce E.M.Grunwaldt.

The Louisianna Purchase Exhibition was held in 1904 to celebrate a century of American progress. Vyacheslav von Plehve, Russian Minister for the Interior, agreed to participate and shipped the works of over 200 leading painters to America along with a lavish wooden pavillion in which to house them. Finance minister E.M.Grunwaldt had drawn up contracts with the artists confirming they would receive 70% of the purchase price of any works sold. However, since the 600 pictures had been imported for exhibition and not sale, when Grunwaldt tried to auction them in 1906 after the exhibition, they were impounded by the US Treasury and kept as 'unclaimed merchandise'.  A Californian Businessman, Frank Havens, arranged to have the whole collection removed to Canada, where they were kept in a warehouse, before re-entering the United States 6 years later. US President Howard Taft agreed to sell the entire collection at a sensational public auction in 1912, where Havens bought most of the works for a total of $39,000. He sold the majority of his Russian pictures at one notable sale in Oakland in 1916, from where they passed into the hands of private collectors and museums in California.