- 210
Mstislav Valerianovich Dobuzhinsky
Description
- Mstislav Valerianovich Dobuzhinsky
- Two designs for the 1926 production of Platov's Cossacks in Paris
- both signed with artist's cypher in Cyrillic l.l. and stamped with Akim Tamirov collection stamp on the reverse
- both watercolour with pen and ink over pencil on paper
- 42 by 57.8cm, 16 1/2 by 22 3/4 in.; 43 by 58.3cm, 17 by 23in.
Provenance
Condition
"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
Akim Tamirov, the son of a wealthy Baku oil magnate, studied at the Moscow Arts Theatre under Stanislavsky. He made his name in musical comedy with the Chauve souris theatre company, where he met the designers Nikolai Remizov, Sergei Sudeikin and Dobuzhinsky. Tamirov settled permanently in the United States after a tour in 1922, and began to put together his superb collection of Russian art, building close friendships with Russian émigré artists such as Konstantin Somov and David Burliuk. Over the course of forty years, Tamiroff became one of Hollywood's greatest character actors, working alongside Cecil B. DeMille, Preston Sturges, Orson Welles and Jean-Luc Godard. He received two Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor in The General Died at Dawn (1936) and For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943).
Another of Dobuzhinsky's designs from this production, formerly in the Rostropovich-Vishnevskaya Collection, now hangs in the Konstantinovsky Palace in St Petersburg.