10th Jun, 2026 12:00
Live Sale: Fine Paintings, Works on Paper and Sculpture June 2026
18
RUSSIAN SCHOOL (20TH CENTURY)
SEATED FEMALE NUDE (RECTO & VERSO)
with initials lower right - recto
coloured crayons on paper - recto; brown crayon - verso
40.5 x 29cm; 16 x 11 1/2in (sheet)
79 x 64cm; 31 x 25 1/4in (framed)
Property from a Private Collector, London
Provenance
David Harrington Gallery, London
Purchased from the above by the present owner in the early 1990s
Executed circa 1913, the present work has long been attributed to Vladimir Tatlin (Ukrainian 1885-1953), one of the foremost Constructivists of his generation and a leading artistic innovator during the Russian Revolution. His work ranged from paintings and drawings to theatre designs, relief constructions and gliders, culminating in his epic plans for the 'Monument to the Third International' (1919-20).
The influence of Cubism on the artist is self-evident, and was very possibly inspired by the Russian collector Sergei Shchukin (1854-1936) who was accumulating and exhibiting his modernist collection in the Troubetskoy Palace, Moscow. Shchukin's collection included an extensive collection of Picassos which became a natural destination for aspiring artists. As John Richardson noted, 'By opening his palace to the public every Sunday (spring, 1909, onwards) and exposing Russian artists like Tatlin and Malevich to the latest Picassos and Matisses, Shchukin helped them to make a major contribution to the modern movement.' (John Richardson, A Life of Picasso, 1907-1917: The Painter of Modern Life, London, 1996, vol. II, p. 305).
Another opportunity to see the latest Modernist work in Moscow that emanated from Paris was at the annual Knave of Diamonds exhibition. Among the thirty-eight exhibitors in the inaugural show of 1910-1911 were four French cubists: Jean Metzinger, Albert Gleizes, Andre Lhote and Robert Le Fauconnier, artists whose distinctive cubist styles resonate ion the present work. Interestingly, it wasn't until the following year that Picasso participated, whilst Tatlin, who had arrived in Moscow in 1910 to study at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, first exhibited in the third Knave of Diamonds exhibition in early 1913.
Tatlin had been so impressed by the works of Picasso that he had seen in Moscow that at the end of 1913 he travelled via Berlin to Paris to visit the Spaniard. There he appealed to him to take him on as his studio assistant or pupil. Picasso recalled Tatlin playing the accordion. 'They communicated by gestures, smiles and drawings and according to Tatlin, understood each other perfectly'.
SEATED FEMALE NUDE (RECTO & VERSO)
with initials lower right - recto
coloured crayons on paper - recto; brown crayon - verso
40.5 x 29cm; 16 x 11 1/2in (sheet)
79 x 64cm; 31 x 25 1/4in (framed)
Property from a Private Collector, London
Provenance
David Harrington Gallery, London
Purchased from the above by the present owner in the early 1990s
Executed circa 1913, the present work has long been attributed to Vladimir Tatlin (Ukrainian 1885-1953), one of the foremost Constructivists of his generation and a leading artistic innovator during the Russian Revolution. His work ranged from paintings and drawings to theatre designs, relief constructions and gliders, culminating in his epic plans for the 'Monument to the Third International' (1919-20).
The influence of Cubism on the artist is self-evident, and was very possibly inspired by the Russian collector Sergei Shchukin (1854-1936) who was accumulating and exhibiting his modernist collection in the Troubetskoy Palace, Moscow. Shchukin's collection included an extensive collection of Picassos which became a natural destination for aspiring artists. As John Richardson noted, 'By opening his palace to the public every Sunday (spring, 1909, onwards) and exposing Russian artists like Tatlin and Malevich to the latest Picassos and Matisses, Shchukin helped them to make a major contribution to the modern movement.' (John Richardson, A Life of Picasso, 1907-1917: The Painter of Modern Life, London, 1996, vol. II, p. 305).
Another opportunity to see the latest Modernist work in Moscow that emanated from Paris was at the annual Knave of Diamonds exhibition. Among the thirty-eight exhibitors in the inaugural show of 1910-1911 were four French cubists: Jean Metzinger, Albert Gleizes, Andre Lhote and Robert Le Fauconnier, artists whose distinctive cubist styles resonate ion the present work. Interestingly, it wasn't until the following year that Picasso participated, whilst Tatlin, who had arrived in Moscow in 1910 to study at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, first exhibited in the third Knave of Diamonds exhibition in early 1913.
Tatlin had been so impressed by the works of Picasso that he had seen in Moscow that at the end of 1913 he travelled via Berlin to Paris to visit the Spaniard. There he appealed to him to take him on as his studio assistant or pupil. Picasso recalled Tatlin playing the accordion. 'They communicated by gestures, smiles and drawings and according to Tatlin, understood each other perfectly'.
Auction: Live Sale: Fine Paintings, Works on Paper and Sculpture June 2026, 10th Jun, 2026
L.S. Lowry’s expansive Figures on a Beach (lot 39) is the lead painting in our June sale that ranges from the Old Masters to Modern British and post-War & Contemporary. Many of the works have been in the same collection for decades; a number have fascinating stories attached.
The first seven lots of Dutch and Flemish Old Masters are from the collection of Paul Wertheimer. Acquired almost hundred years ago, Wertheimer brought the works to England when he fled Germany in 1938. Leading the group are 17th century panels attributed to Moses van Uyttenbroeck and Lucas van Uden, the latter a reduced copy of Rubens’ original in the Royal Collection (lots 1 & 4). Another early panel, a portrait of Cornelisz. Van Beresteyn, is by a follower of Michiel Jansz. van Miereveld (lot 9).
Works by fellow artists and friends Augustus John and Edgar Augustus ‘Loben’ Slade (lots 20-25) feature John’s early portrait of Loben and five works on paper by the lesser known Slade, nephew of the founder of the Slade School of Art, one of which is a watercolour of Jessie McNeill, John’s model, muse and mistress.
Also in the sale are seven works by Australian artists, including Jeffrey Smart, William Blamire Young and Leonard French, all from a private collection in Surrey (lots 30-36), and ten paintings from a Cheshire Collection that features the work of Helen Bradley, Edouard Cortes and Marcel Dyf together with bracing coastal views by Campbell Archibald Mellon (lots 40-48).
A small and fascinating work on paper is by Paul Nash. It captures the view of Harry Rocks off Ballard Down from Nash's flat in Swanage where he was living in the mid-1930s and which he incorporated into his Surrealist work ahead of the major Surrealist exhibition in London of 1936 (lot 27).
Beside the Lowry beach scene, other post-War works include an important early sculpture by James Tower (lot 52), a leading sculptor-ceramicist of his generation. Other post-War abstract works include examples by Frank Avray Wilson, James Hull and Etienne Beothy (lots 50, 51, 55 & 57).
For more information please contact us | pictures@olympiaauctions.com | +44 (0)20 7806 5541
Viewing
PUBLIC EXHIBITION:
Sunday 7th June: 12pm - 4pm
Monday 8th June: 10am - 8pm (Drinks 5 - 8pm)
Tuesday 9th June: 10am - 5pm
