Pavel Fedorovich Tchelitchew

Alexandra Tchelitchew Zaoussailoff, Paris
Catherine Viviano, New York
Sale: Sotheby's New York, May 28, 1976, lot 604, illustrated
Acquired directly from the above sale by the present owner

New York, Midtown Payson Galleries, Pavel Tchelitchew:  A Reevaluation, September-November 1994

This painting on heavy canvas has been lined, using wax as an adhesive. The paint layer is heavy and probably varnished. The paint is cracked in places and perhaps developed some form that was not originally in the surface, but none of this is disturbing. The cracking in the hair is not unstable. There are two horizontal cracks running through the face ending at the mouth and nose, which could in theory be retouched, but in general we are very comfortable with the condition and the painting should be hung as is. 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 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."

The young russian [Tchelitchew] was interesting.  He was painting, so he said, colour that was no colour, he was painting blue pictures and he was painting three heads in one. Picasso had been drawing three heads in one.  Soon the russian was painting three figures in one.

—Gertrude Stein in The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas, 1^st edition, p. 277