Boris Dmitrievich Grigoriev

The board is slightly worn at the corners and there are a few light surface scratches. UV light reveals small areas of retouching in places throughout. Held in a dark brown wooden frame. 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."

In 1922 and 1923, Boris Grigoriev toured with the Moscow Arts Theatre (MKhAT) in Paris and New York, during which period he painted the portraits of some of Russia's most famous actors and actresses, including Konstantin Stanislavsky, Vassily Luzhsky and Olga Knipper-Chekhova. As Tamara Galeeva writes in her monograph on the artist, the series is Grigoriev's best and showed that his depiction of Russia was not limited to the peasant types he was also painting in the early 1920s. "As a reflection of Russia, these portraits are much deeper and more diverse than those of the Rassiya series." (G.Pospelov, cited in idem, p.157). Grigoriev sketched and painted the actors in a variety of roles from The Lower Depths by Maxim Gorky to Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard and The Brothers Karamazov by Fedor Dostoyevsky. The sitter of the offered lot is thought to be Nikolai Grigorievich Alexandrov (1870-1930), stage director, actor and one of the founding members of MKhAT.

Although Grigoriev had already found fame in Russia by the 1920s, it was these portraits of actors and other cultural luminaries such as Fedor Chaliapin (1924), Sergei Esenin (1923) and Alexei Remizov (1924) that earned him international recognition: 1923 saw the opening of his first solo exhibition in the United States at The New Gallery in New York, which was attended by several MKhaT actors; the following year Grigoriev participated in The Russian Art Exhibition in New York's Grand Central Palace, and in 1925 another solo exhibition was held in the Hotel de Jean Charpentier in Paris.

Grigoriev's coupling of stylised physiognomy and intensified, exaggerated features with a great sense of serenity make him one of Russia's most psychologically compelling portraitists. The two-dimensional planes of the black background and red torso lend extra prominence and drama to the sculptural, three-dimensional qualities of his features, and recall the geometric landscapes in the background of Grigoriev's Liki Rassiya portraits.