Ivan Trusz

Private Collection, Lviv (acquired directly from the artist)
Thence by descent

This painting on board is in excellent condition. The paint layer is clean and in original condition. The only restorations address a little frame abrasion around the extreme edges. The paint layer is very fresh and undamaged. 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."

Trusz was a prolific painter whose favorite subjects included winter landscapes and peasant scenes. Internationally trained, he studied under Polish modernist Jan Stanislawski at the Krakow Academy of Fine Arts from 1891 through 1897, then traveled to Vienna and on to Munich to study under Slovene realist Anton Ažbe. Though he settled in the Ukrainian city of Lviv in 1898, he later journeyed to Italy, Egypt and Palestine, and his impressions from these travels had a significant impact on his oeuvre.

The present lot is one of the artist's finest depictions of hahilky (or vesnianky), a traditional Ukrainian festival. Young girls perform songs, dances and games in remembrance of their pagan ancestors who once did the same, symbolically chasing away winter to make way for a bountiful harvest to come. Even today hahilky remains an important celebration of Ukrainian culture.