Valentin Alexandrovich Serov

Alexandra Savvichna Mamontova (1878-1952), Abramtsevo
Porfiry Nikitich Krylov, Moscow

St Petersburg, Imperial Academy of Arts, Posmertnaia vystavka proizvedenii V.A.Serova, 1914, no.49
Moscow, Vystavka proizvedenii V.A.Serova, 1914, no.45
Moscow, Central House of Art Workers, Vystavka proizvedenii Valentina Aleksandrovicha Serova, 1952, no.54
Moscow, State Tretyakov Gallery, Vystavka proizvedenii Valentina Serova, 1958-1959
Moscow, State Tretyakov Gallery and St Petersburg, State Russian Museum, Vystavka k 100-letiyu so dnya rozhdeniya Serova, 1965
Moscow, State Tretyakov Gallery and St Petersburg, State Russian Museum, Valentin Serov. K 125-letiyu so dnya rozhdeniya, 1991, no.30

I.Grabar, Valentin Aleksandrovich Serov: zhizn' i tvorchestvo, Moscow: Knebel, 1913, p.55 illustrated in b/w, p.284 listed under works from 1886
Exhibition catalogue Posmertnaia vystavka proizvedenii V.A.Serova, St Petersburg, 1914, p.6, no.49 listed
Exhibition catalogue Vystavka proizvedenii Valentina Serova, Moscow, 1958, mentioned in the text on p.9
N.Sokolova, N.Vlasov, Valentin Aleksandrovich Serov, Moscow: Gosudarstvennoe izdatel'stvo izobrazitel'nogo iskusstva, 1959, p.25 illustrated
Exhibition catalogue Vystavka k 100-letiyu so dnya rozhdeniya Serova, Moscow, 1965, p.26 listed
I.Grabar, Valentin Aleksandrovich Serov: zhizn' i tvorchestvo, Moscow: Iskusstvo, 1980, pl.3 
D.Sarabianov, Valentin Serov: Paintings, Graphic Works, Stage Designs, Leningrad: Aurora Art Publishers, 1982, p.287, no.90 listed; no.32 illustrated
Exhibition catalogue Valentin Serov. K 125-letiyu so dnya rozhdeniya, Leningrad: Aurora, 1991, p.90, no.30 listed and illustrated in b/w 

The panel is sound. The right hand edge is slightly uneven and the corners are slightly worn. There are minor frame abrasions to the edges with some associated paint loss. There is a light layer of surface dirt and some minor surface scratches throughout the composition. There is a very small paint chip above the fir tree to the left of the house and in the tree trunk on the far right of the house. There is a number in ink in the lower right hand corner of the panel. Examination under UV light reveals no obvious signs of restoration. Held in a gold-painted wooden frame with plaster mouldings. Unexamined out of frame.
"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."

Following its acquisition in 1870 by the industrialist and art patron Savva Mamontov, the Abramtsevo Estate became an important centre for the Slavophile movement and hosted an artists' colony which included such towering figures of Russian painting as Ilya Repin, the brothers Viktor and Apollinary Vasnetsov, Konstantin Korovin, Mikhail Nesterov and Mikhail Vrubel. Valentin Serov was a regular visitor to Abramtsevo from childhood and it was there he painted some of his most celebrated works, such as his 1887 painting Girl with Peaches, which was in the collection of Alexandra Mamontova and is now in the State Tretyakov Gallery.

In his monograph published only two years after Serov’s untimely death in 1911, Igor Grabar praises the present work: ‘In the late autumn [of 1886] he [Serov] went to Abramtsevo, where he painted the marvellous Pond from the Tretyakov Gallery, and then his glorious Winter, which remained in Abramtsevo and still hangs there today’ (I.Grabar, Valentin Aleksandrovich Serov: zhizn' i tvorchestvo, Moscow: Knebel, 1913, p.70). The third painting mentioned by Grabar is another winter scene which at the time belonged to Ilya Ostrukhov and which is now in the Tretyakov Gallery. Slightly smaller in size, Grabar refers to it as a ‘version’ of the present lot.

Winter in Abramtsevo remained in the collection of Alexandra Mamontova, the youngest daughter of Savva Mamontov and director of the Abramtsevo Museum, until her death in 1952.