(New York/Russian Dissident, born 1943)

Meeting with the Pharoah, 1975-1988, signed lower right "M. Chemiakin 1975-1988", oil on canvas, 42 x 42 in.; gilt wood frame, 53 x 52-5/8 in.

Note: Mihail Chemiakin was born in Moscow in 1943, grew up in occupied East Germany, and returned to Russia in 1957 where he was admitted to the Special High School of the Repin Academy of Art in Leningrad. He was expelled from art school for failing to conform to Socialist Realist norms, and from 1959-1971 worked as a laborer in various capacities. He was subjected to compulsory treatment at a mental institution, which was a standard way of dealing with ideological dissidents at that time.

For five years he worked on the maintenance crew of the Hermitage Museum. In 1967, the artist founded the St. Petersburg Group and developed the philosophy of Metaphysical Synthesism, dedicated to the creation of a new form of icon painting based on the study of religious art of all ages and peoples.

In 1971 Chemiakin was forced out of the USSR by the Soviet authorities. He settled first in France, then moved to New York City in 1981. Source: Askart.com

Provenance: With Certificate of Authenticity; Bowles/Sorokko Galleries, San Francisco/Beverly Hills, California, November 1988; Property of Boxwood Hall, Greenville, South Carolina

original stretcher and tacking edge, good condition; frame with abrasions