Constantin Terechkovitch

Paris, Galerie Paul Pétridès, February 1962 (as per a label on the reverse).

Born in Moscow in 1902, Constantin Terechkovitch fled Russia when the Revolution broke out and served, among other posts, as a groom for the British Army in Constantinople. From this experience emerged his lifelong passion for horses. After arriving in Paris in 1920, he became a regular at the racecourses, and a fortunate bet eventually allowed him to leave his job and devote himself entirely to art.

Ali Khan’s Horse belongs to a group of works dedicated to stallions. Another watercolour, titled En souvenir des Princes de sang and dated 1962, seems to have been shown alongside the present work at the exhibition organised by the Galerie Paul Pétridès in 1962 (see Anonymous Sale, Beurret & Bailly Auktionen, Basel, 20 June 2018, lot 102).