Rare works by Russian master Fedor Zakharov offered at Bonhams

PanARMENIAN.Net - A collection of 24 paintings by the Russian artist Fedor Zakharov will be offered along with an array of Russian treasures at the Bonhams Russian sale in London on 30 November, Art Daily reports. The works are collectively estimated at £224,000-315,000. They are drawn from the prominent private collection of the late Winifred and Charles Henry Babcock, both devoted patrons of Zakharov and owners of the largest body of his work in the US.

Fedor Zakharov was a Russian painter who moved to New York just as the Roaring Twenties were getting under way. He quickly turned his traditional European training to portraiture, which was much in demand among the American elite at the time. His work was then rapturously received at the Russian art exhibition at the Grand Central Palace in 1924.

Collected by American elite, foreign diplomats and other notable personalities, Zakharov’s radiant works are celebrated for their elegant realism, lyricism and luminosity. He found inspiration from life around him, while exploring meticulous compositions using objects, light and space in search of a perfect form of expression. Many of these collectors remained generous patrons through the artist’s long and productive career, through which he remained true to his artistic vision and its relationship with reality. His efforts in understanding arts and its role in society was recognized as he received numerous prestigious awards and participated in exhibitions around United States.

The Zakharov paintings in the sale are drawn from the prominent private collection of late Winifred Babcock, wife of Charles Henry Babcock of North Carolina — both devoted patrons of Zakharov and collectors of his largest body of work in the U.S. It showcases select portraits, landscapes, still lives and archival materials that have not been seen in public for half of the century, and taken as a whole, they represent a lasting legacy of a remarkable artist.

Daria Chernenko, Director of the Russian Department at Bonhams, said, “Fedor Zakharov was a master of his genre, and his paintings conjure up a bygone era. The array of works by the artist in the unmatched Babcock showcase the artist at the height of his career and demonstrate the very best of his painting.”

Other highlights of the sale include:

• An important presentation silver-gilt punch set by Pavel Ovchinnikov, made in Moscow in 1889 (£90,000-120,000).

• Sadko's chamber by Nicholas Roerich. A stage design for unrealized production of opera Sadko by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London, 1920. (£80,000-120,000).

• A silver-gilt, shaded and plique-à-jour enamel tazza (£10,000-20,000).

• New Statue of Liberty by Ernst Neizvestny. (£8,000-10,000).