Pavel Tchelitchew

Collection of Mrs Edward Maast, London, acquired directly from the artist
A gift from the above to her niece
Sotheby's London, Impressionist and Modern Art and Ceramics, 26 October 1994, lot 19

J.T. Soby, Tchelitchew. Paintings, Drawings, New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1942, p.59, no.34 illustrated b/w
Exhibition catalogue Pavel Tchelitchew, New York, 1964, p.49 listed in the chronology
P.Tyler, The Divine Comedy of Pavel Tchelitchew, London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1969, illustrated b/w
G.Haggerty and B.Zimmerman, Encyclopedia of Lesbian and Gay Histories and Cultures, Taylor & Francis, 2000, p.1332 mentioned in the text

Structural ConditionThe artist's board is providing a stable structural support. There is a diagonal crease line in the lower right corner of the composition. This is stable.Paint SurfaceThe paint surface has an even varnish layer. The paint surface is stable with no lifting or raised paint. Inspection under ultra-violet light shows scattered areas of carefully applied spots and lines of retouching, the most significant of which are concentrated within the left side of the figure's face and within the background, most notably in the upper left and right corners of the composition. There is also an intermittent horizontal line of retouching within the neck of the sitter and some further minor spots and lines of retouching within his arms and the torso.SummaryThe work would therefore appear to be in good and stable 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."

The Rose Necklace is a portrait of Charles Levinson, known as ‘Le Vincent’, who was ‘a handsome ex-soldier with a superb necklace of tattooed flowers’ (L.Kirstein, Tchelitchew, Santa Fe, 1994, p.45). With his nonchalant beauty and easy physicality he inspired Tchelitchew to produce a full series of tattooed circus figures (fig.1). This portrait provides an earthy, sexual counterpoint to Picasso’s Garçon à la Pipe (1904) which inspired Tchelitchew’s portraits of Ford and others surrounded by flowers, only here the garland of roses is transposed to the sitter’s chest.The American novelist Samuel Steward who abandoned academia to work as a tattoo artist and gay pornographer under the soubriquet Phil Sparrow, famously had a tattoo of a rose garland across his chest in direct homage to this portrait. He and Tchelitchew were introduced through Gertrude Stein in Paris in the early 1930s and their circles also overlapped through figures such as the American ballet photographer George Platt Lynes whose photographs of Le Vincent are as famous as Tchelitchew’s portraits (fig.2).