Anna Petrovna Ostroumova-Lebedeva

OSTROUMOVA-LEBEDEVA, ANNA 1871-1955 Old Church, Nådendal , signed and numbered "N265", inscribed in Cyrillic with a dedication to N.V. Petoshina and dated 1947, further titled in Cyrillic on the reverse. Charcoal and watercolour on laid paper, 30 by 46.5 cm. Comment Executed in Nådendal in 1905. Provenance: Gift from the artist to N.V. Petoshina, senior researcher at the State Russian Museum, 1947. Important private collection, Germany. Authenticity of the work has been confirmed by the expert E. Zhukova. Literature: A. Benois, S. Ernst, Ostroumova-Lebedeva , Moscow-Petrograd, 1923, p. 68, listed as Staraya kirka v Nodendale (1905). Anna Petrovna Ostroumova-Lebedeva. Katalog vystavki , Leningrad, 1940, p. 27, No. 65, listed as Nodendal’’’’. Staraya kirka . Exhibited: Possibly Anna Petrovna Ostroumova-Lebedeva , The State Russian Museum, Leningrad, 1940, No. 65. The work is accompanied by a handwritten letter from the artist to Natalia Vasilievna Petoshina, dated 9 September 1947. Petoshina was one of the organisers of Ostroumova-Lebedeva’’’’s solo exhibitions in 1940 and 1946. She was also the author of the 1946 exhibition catalogue.

LOT 191 PROPERTY FROM AN IMPORTANT EUROPEAN COLLECTION ANNA PETROVNA OSTROUMOVA-LEBEDEVA 1871 - 1955 RED TOWER IN ST PETERSBURG signed in Cyrillic and dated 34 l.r. watercolour and pencil on paper 10,000—15,000 GBP measurements 31 by 23.5cm, 12 1/4 by 9 1/4 in. Description signed in Cyrillic and dated 34 l.r. watercolour and pencil on paper

ANNA PETROVNAOSTROUMOVA-LEBEDEVA PETERBURG.Avtolitografii A.P. Ostroumovoi . [Petersburg.'Autolithographs' of A.O. Ostroumova], Peterburg: 1922. Albumcontaining 14 original hand-colored lithographs (includes title page and contents), all signed in plates.Introductory text by A. Benois. Limited edition. Only 400 copiesprinted. Original printed wrappers. 310 x 410 mm (12 1/4 x 16 1/8in.). Very good condition.

signed in Cyrillic l.r. and dated 1917 oil on board PROVENANCEVitaly Ivanovich Petrov, Leningrad LITERATURE AND REFERENCES G.Goldovsky et al, Paintings from Private Collections: 18th to 20th century Leningrad / St. Petersburg; Aurora Art Publishers: St. Petersburg, 1993, No.113, ill. pp.100 - 101 CATALOGUE NOTEPainted in 1917, the year of Revolution, this serene snowscape by Anna Ostroumova-Lebedeva is a breathtaking homage to the artist's greatest muse: St. Petersburg. In the foreground, workers are shown on the embankments of the Neva clearing snow. The background opens out to a wide vista and characteristic tonally-contrasted sky, where shadows reign, cast by the slanting northern sunlight. The majestic architectural forms of The Admiralty, St. Isaac's Cathedral and the Senate and Synod can be made out, nestled against and in juxtaposition to the unfilled spaces of the river Neva and wide expanse of the sky. Anna Ostroumova-Lebedeva is best-known for such landscapes (figs. 1 and 2 for other winter views of St. Petersburg) and city vistas; the subject of St. Petersburg was perhaps her most enduring love, poignant when one considers that despite travelling widely overseas, she felt compelled to remain in her hometown throughout the Leningrad siege of 1941-44 and continued to produce small drawings and engravings during this painful time when one million Leningraders lost their lives from famine or disease during the blockade. Anna Ostroumova-Lebedeva was firmly allied to the World of Art movement throughout its existence. She was often found at Benois's home with the small core of initial members, Lanceray, Ober, Bakst, Somov, Nouvel and Nurok, and joined the group in 1900, exhibiting with them until 1927. Like fellow painter Alexander Benois, the "historical landscape" was her main genre, and both were captivated by the charms of St. Petersburg. She revived the value of the woodcut, which had previously been used as a means of reproducing paintings or drawings. Depicting city architecture was her main focus; primarily that of St. Petersburg but also Venice, in both cases seeking to convey the majestic glory of former times. "In truth the St. Petersburg of the World of Art is above all the St. Petersburg of Ostroumova-Lebedeva" ( The World of Art Movement in early 20th-century Russia , Leningrad, 1991, p. 96.)

ANNA PETROVNA OSTROUMOVA-LEBEDEVA, 1871-1955 (1871-1955) - A GROUP OF FOUR WOODCUT PRINTS ON WOVE PAPER COMPRISING: BOBBY, SPRING.DOLNIKA (1900), A VIEW OF TIVOLI AND ANGEL (BOTH 1914) - PROPERTY FROM AN IMPORTANT PRIVATE COLLECTION, FRANCE
Mis: image size: smallest 12 by 15cm., 4¾ by 6in.; largest 32.5 by 25cm., 12½ by 9¾in.
all signed with artist's cypher in the plate. Bobby dated 1925; View of Tivoli titled in the plate t.r.; Spring.Dolnika inscribed and dated 1900 by Prince Argoutinsky-Dolgorouky Quantity: 4

PROVENANCE
The Collection of Prince Argoutinsky-Dolgorouky

REFERENCES
For all four works see State Russian Museum Catalogue. A.P.Ostroumova-Lebedeva: Centenary of the Artist's birth, Leningrad, 1971, p.21, 23, 27, 28 For Spring.Dolnika, Angel and Tivoli see A.Benois and S. Ernst, Ostroumova-Lebedeva, Moscow, pp.85, 86, 88 For a photograph of the artist's dog, Bobby see E.Poliakova, The Town of Ostroumova-Lebedeva, Moscow, 1983, plate 11 For illustrations of Tivoli see A.Petrovna, Ostroumova-Lebedeva, Moscow, 1952 A.P.Ostroumova-Lebedeva, Autobiographical Notes 1900-1916, Moscow and Leningrad, 1945, p.51 N.Sinitsin, Ostroumova-Lebedeva. Engravings, Moscow, 1964, plate 38 Ostroumova-Lebedeva Graphic Art, Moscow, 1984, p.60, No.27 E.Poliakova, The Town of Ostroumova-Lebedeva, Moscow, 1983, P.101, No.13