Petr Petrovich Konchalovsky

Private Collection
Maya Polsky Gallery, Chicago, circa 1990s
Acquired directly from the above by the present owner

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com , an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This painting is unlined and the signature is clearly visible on the reverse. While the paint layer has most likely never been cleaned, it has been varnished. There are some old areas of thinness or losses which have been retouched fairly broadly in the lower left center, in the lower trees and in the reflection of the water. While there is undeniable paint loss, the restoration could most likely be improved.
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.

Petr Konchalovsky was an incredibly prolific painter. He was raised in a family of artists and writers in Slaviansk, Ukraine, and together they moved to Moscow when he was an adolescent. His Moscow home was frequented by members of the local art scene, including Valentin Serov, Mikhail Vrubel, and Vasily Surikov, who would later become his father-in-law. Konchalovsky went on to study painting in Paris and St. Petersburg, where he responded uniquely to various methods of Western European modernism, including Post-impressionism and Fauvism. He was soon recognized as a founding member of the pivotal Knave of Diamonds group, though he later backed away the limelight of the Russian avant-garde and criticized the crudity of Fauvism.

After the 1917 Revolution, Konchalovsky became a professor at SVOMAS (Free Arts Studios), and his landscapes of the late 1910s and early 1920s continued to reference the Post-impressionist style of Paul Cézanne. As visible in the present composition, he simplified his forms, creating a relative colour scheme that captured the essence of the natural world at a specific moment in time. In the artist's own words: I really wanted to create a 'live' landscape, in which the trees do not simply stick out, as often seen in contemporary art, but grow out of soil so that the viewer can sense its roots...