Live Auction 18370Russian Art
Vladimir Ovchinnikov (1941-2015)
Lot 91

Vladimir Ovchinnikov (1941-2015)

Landscape with Leda and the swan

Closed23 November 2020

Price Realised

GBP 11,250

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Vladimir Ovchinnikov (1941-2015)
Landscape with Leda and the swan
signed in Cyrillic and dated 'V. Ovchinnikov 78.' (lower right); further signed in Cyrillic, inscribed with title in Russian and dated 'V. Ovchinnikov/1978.' (on the reverse)
oil on canvas
43 ½ x 35 5/8 in. (110.5 x 90.4 cm.)

Acquired from the artist by the previous owners in Leningrad.
Property from a private collection, Virginia; Sotheby's, New York, 5 October 2018, lot 100.
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner.

Specialist note


Landscape with Leda and the swan relates to a subject that Vladimir Ovchinnikov constantly explored in his oeuvre from the mid-1970s onwards. It is probable that the present lot was mentioned in his diary entry from 15-17 October 1978: 'Right now I am finishing a new version of Leda, I’ll take it to Moscow within the next few days'. This would provide an explanation for the canvas's fate, given it was formerly located in a private collection in the USA. The main buyers of nonconformist art during that period in Moscow were employees at foreign embassies.
We would like to thank Mikhail Ovchinnikov for providing this catalogue note.