Boris Israilovich Anisfeld

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 has been recently restored and should be hung in its current condition. The canvas is not lined, but the tacking edges have been reinforced and it is now stretched on a new stretcher. The paint layer is cleaned and very lightly varnished and no noticeable restorations have been added anywhere to the picture except to a small patch above the inscription in the lower right. There may be other tiny restorations in the green hillside above the flowers, but under ultraviolet light they're not immediately noticeable.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

I always see a thing first in color. It comes to me as a complete conception, and I rarely have to alter the essential character of my initial impressions. It is my habit...to put down the visions of color and form, such as they are, quite rapidly, and to amplify and intensify the scheme at some later time when I am so disposed (Boris Anisfeld, 1918).

While a student at the St. Petersburg Academy of Fine Art, young Anisfeld met Igor Grabar who introduced him to Sergei Diaghilev. Both men were impressed by the student's paintings and they welcomed him to join the World of Art, an artistic society that had influenced his artistic maturation, and whose journal (World of Art, 1898-1904) had offered him insight into recent artistic developments in Western Europe. Anisfeld accepted their offer, and by 1906 he was exhibiting as a World of Art member in Russia.

Furthermore, Diaghilev invited Anisfeld to participate in the Russian show at the 1906 Salon d'Automne in Paris. There his work was so well received that he was elected one of the Salon's prestigious sociétaires, and his name was established among Russians and Western Europeans alike. Even when placed amidst the latest works of known artists like Gauguin and Matisse, Anisfeld's work appeared both progressive and brilliantly complex, for he expertly combined and refined qualities of Impressionism, Symbolism, Post-impressionism and even Fauvism.