Boris Grigoriev (1886-1939)

The present work was executed by Boris Grigoriev at Ilya Repin's estate Penates in Kuokkola in 1915, during one of the many artistic gatherings that took place there. Repin also drew a fine portrait of Boris Grigoriev at the same time (sold Sotheby’s, London, 16 June 1994, lot 52). Grigoriev later dedicated this work to Vladimir Bashkiroff in New York in 1934. Formerly the director of the Volga Kamskii bank in Nizhnii-Novgorod, Bashkiroff emigrated to the United States in 1919 and was a close friend and major supporter of numerous writers, artists and composers. He was particularly instrumental in the preservation of Russian culture in the United States and was an important collector of Modern Russian art.