Nikolai Fechin

Judge Henry Alexander Kiker (acquired directly from the artist in 1931)
Thence by descent
Private Collection (acquired directly from the above in 2008)

This canvas has been lined. The paint layer is clean but un-varnished and is in lovely condition. There is a thin diagonal line of retouching in the bridge of the nose, another in the blue of the collar of her shirt on the right side and one other small retouch in the white paint in her chest. This very lively piece of brushwork is nonetheless in beautiful condition and should be hung as is. Any of the pencil lines that are visible on the paint layer around the figure are all original. 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."

In 1926, just three years after arriving in New York City, Fechin moved with his family to the picturesque desert town of Taos, New Mexico. Though Fechin was already well regarded for his exquisite portraits of children and society figures, it was in Taos that he created some of his best works including his canonical images of Native Americans. He abandoned the restraint that characterized his earlier oeuvre and began painting in a bold, confident style that was exuberant in both color and brushstroke. His portraits from his Taos period are at once intensely imaginative and acutely descriptive.

The present lot depicts nine-year-old Mary Kiker, a friend of the artist's daughter Eya. Ms. Kiker's stepfather was Henry Alexander Kiker, a lawyer who became a Justice in the New Mexico Supreme Court in the late 1950s; he befriended Fechin and even helped him finalize his divorce in 1934. Fechin gave this portrait to Mr. Kiker in 1931, and in 1975 Ms. Kiker, then Wheeler, inherited the picture from her father. She later loaned it to an exhibition in Taos where it was reframed; the artist's signature and dedication were removed from the original frame and attached to the verso.