Georgy and Vladimir Stenberg

Estate of Natalie Babel Brown (daughter of Isaac Babel)

The sheet is a little yellowed with some minor stains and signs of slight foxing. There is a small brown stain above the artists' signature at lower right and two lighter stains at upper left and right. There are two pinholes to each upper corner. Held in a modern wood 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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Initially achieving fame as Constructivist sculptors, the prominent Russian avant-garde artists (and brothers) Vladimir and Georgy Stenberg also worked as theatrical designers and architects. The brothers' best-known theatrical designs were commissioned by the Moscow Kamerny (Chamber) Theater, founded in 1914 by Alexander Tairov. Tairov's vision of a "kinetic and architectonic, rather than a literary or illustrative theatrical experience" was well-suited to the Stenberg philosophy.

At Tairov's theater, attention was primarily paid to the actor's technique, and movement was considered a central component of the overall stage design. Theater designs reflected Constructivist precepts in their reliance on simple geometric forms. The action generally took place on multi-level stages, and costumes were extremely graphic, as exemplified by the present lots. One of Tairov's greatest successes was his 1926 production of Day and Night by Charles Lecocq—one of the principal nineteenth-century French composers of operettas after Jacques Offenbach. Tairov, in collaboration with the Stenberg brothers as designers, gave the musical comedy the lightness and freshness of an athletic-dance spectacle.

In 1930, Tairov saw the Bertolt Brecht-Kurt Weill production Die Dreigroschenoper (The Threepenny Opera) in Berlin. That same year, he staged his own version of the play, The Beggar's Opera. Tairov's staging of The Beggar's Opera was the first production of Brecht presented outside of Germany.