Alexei Petrovich Bogoliubov

Collection of the Grand Duke Nikolai Alexandrovich, 1863-65
Imperial Collection of Tsar Alexander III (from 1865 in the Anichkov Palace, from 1870 in Alexander Palace at Tsarskoe Selo)
Alexander Palace-Museum, 1917-1931

Catalogue of Paintings belonging to His Imperial Highness and Inheritor to the Tsar, 1872, no. 7
Catalogue of Paintings of Alexander Palace, 1880-1890, no. 4/7
V.I. Yakovlev, Alexander Palace-Museum in Detskoe Selo, 1998, p. 188

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com , an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This painting is in beautiful, if not perfect, condition and is framed in its beautiful and original frame. The canvas has never been removed from its original stretcher, is unlined and has probably never been cleaned or damaged. If the canvas were lightly cleaned, the palette would brighten, but no retouches are likely to be required.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

The present composition was commissioned by Grand Duke Nikolai Alexandrovich (1843-1865) in 1863, when Bogoliubov was invited by the Grand Duke to document his travels throughout Russia. The artist finished these works (including the present lot, one of 25 compositions completed in oil) by 1864, the year before the Grand Duke's premature death.

In June of 1866, Bogoliubov accompanied the Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich on a similar trip, and in the autumn of that year he met princess Dagmara, future Empress Maria Fedorovna. Bogoliubov soon became a tutor to the Grand Duke and the future Empress, and he taught them the arts of drawing, painting and restoration. More importantly, he became Alexander III's chief advisor on art collecting. Their friendly relationship lasted almost 30 years.

The present painting was once in the collection of Tsar Alexander III—a collection which numbered as many as eight hundred canvases. The collection was hung in the Winter, Anichkov, Alexander, Gatchinskii and Belovezshskii palaces.  In 1870, the Alexander III chose to hang this work was hung in the dining hall of the Alexander palace. He called this hall "Bogoliubov's Hall" because it was here that he hung about thirty Bogoliubov's finest paintings. Half of the belongings of Alexander III and Maria Fedorovna in Alexander Palace were sold in 1931.  A large portion of the museum's exhibited items were transferred to the disposal of the Gosfond Commission where they were sold, including Don. Steamship "Cossack" Aground.