S/O Benois Collection

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Lot 862
  • 862

Alexander Nikolaevich Benois

Estimate
7,000 - 9,000 GBP
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Description

  • Alexander Nikolaevich Benois
  • The artist sketching, Sainte-Baume
  • signed and inscribed in Latin and dated 20 VIII 1929 l.r.; further inscribed  l.l.
  • watercolour and ink over pencil on paper
  • 30.2 by 46cm, 12 by 18 in.

Condition

The sheet has been laid down on card. There are very minor pinholes to the corners, two small tears to the right edge, a minor nick to the lower left edge and a layer of light surface dirt. The sheet has discoloured and there is minor creasing in places. Unframed.
"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."

Catalogue Note

Benois dedicates this watercolour 'To my beloved wife Akitsa on this, her birthday, as a souvenir of a delightful walk with our children and grandchildren, from her adoring husband'.

ANNA BENOIS

The touching dedications from Benois to his wife Anna Kind on several of the works in this collection reveal the deep love and respect they felt for one another throughout their lives.

Friends since childhood (see note to lot 804), they first became engaged nearly a decade later, on Christmas Eve of 1885. Benois recalls, 'I stretched out my hand and touched hers. She did not withdraw it... I felt very clearly that something memorable was taking place, that we were predestined to walk like that in life, hand in hand, and that it would be right.'(A.Benois, Memoirs: vol II, London: Chatto & Windus, 1964, pp.16-17)

However Anna's sisters saw Alexander as 'a second version of [his brother] Albert, whose marriage to Anna's sister, Maria, had all but broken down, and by 1890 they had persuaded Anna to call off her engagement and accept the marriage proposal of an engineer from Moscow.

 

It was an accidental meeting, alone, at the house of a mutual friend the following April which prompted their reconciliation and they 'knew at once that the parting was over... we could not live without one another'.  'On June 8th, 1891, near Peterhof, on a beautiful warm evening, in the perfect silence of the fields....We swore eternal love for each other and kept our oath, though my beloved left me first.' A.Benois, Memoirs: vol II, London: Chatto & Windus, 1964, p. 102