Pavel Fedorovich Tchelitchew

Eleanor McMillen Brown, New York
Thence by descent

Philadelphia, Philadelphia Museum of Art, A World of Flowers: Paintings and Prints, May-June 1963

Philadelphia Museum of Art, A World of Flowers: Paintings and Prints, Philadelphia, 1963, p. 175, illustrated

This painting on canvas has been lined with wax as an adhesive. There appear to be no damages and the paint layer is quite dirty. The wax is no longer sufficiently supporting the cracking, which is very raised in many areas of the painting, and this canvas should be reexamined by a restorer in order to reverse the lining and correct the cracking. There is a small amount of paint loss in the background in the upper right but there appear to be no retouches. The painting, although in need of restoration, is in beautiful condition nonetheless. 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."

Anemones was executed in 1932 during a period of great change and success in Pavel Tchelitchew's career, when he began to focus on brighter, more luminous splashes of color. Though circus-themed works figure most prominently in his oeuvre from this period, Tchelitchew also painted a small but significant number of still life compositions, each portraying commonplace objects mystically animated with light and energy.

In the present lot, the incandescent glow that radiates from each flower prefigures the synergy of the artist's geometric Interior Landscapes (1943-1946) and Space Compositions (1950-1956). Anemones appear frequently in Tchelitchew's oeuvre and perhaps allude to their symbolic meaning in Greek mythology. When Adonis, favorite of Aphrodite and archetype of young, masculine beauty, was fatally wounded by a boar while hunting, red anemones rose from his blood, thus signifying rebirth and the circle of life. Similarly, these flowers have come to symbolize Christ's blood in representations of the crucifixion.

Anemones belonged to the famed New York interior designer Eleanor McMillen Brown, a pioneer in the field whose clients included Henry Ford II and Marshall Field. It is possible she acquired the work directly from the artist during his time in New York, and it has remained in the family's collection ever since its purchase.