Tuesday, October 16, 2012

I hate label removers!

"Near The Post Office", unknown, 13" x 16", oil on board


     I found this unframed painting at a local thrift shop for $3.77, including tax. I think it is London scene from the 1920s or 1930s, judging by the image and the board that it is painted on. I can almost make out the signature and suspect that it may be "V. Sozonov", and is by Russian painter Valerie Sozonov or Vsevolod Sozonov. Valerie is used as a man's name in Russia. I suspect that the several records I have found for these two men are actually for the same man. I have only been able to find a few examples of work attributed to this artist on the Internet, but could not find an image of a signature. I am researching a biography for these artists.
    The style is very similar to the couple of examples of this artist's work that I could find, and there were several mentions of English and London scenes in the auction records of his work. There are a few scratches and scrapes on this piece, but I really like the motion in the scene. I had almost given up on finding treasure that day and was literally on my way out of the door, when I saw it leaning, half hidden among some other items. Woo and Hoo. The remnants of a label and the pencilled title are verso. It is somewhat maddening that the label was removed. I would appreciate hearing from anyone who is familiar with this artist's work.









1 comment:

  1. Hi Kevin, just found your blog after searching about this artist. I'm on holiday in Aberdeenshire and just visited Delgatie Castle where they have several of Sozonov's works. So if you're ever over on this side of the pond it would be worth a visit. I'm no art buff and hadn't heard of him before hence the search. As for your painting it does appear to be a scene from London but during WWII as the 2 figures on the right of the picture with their backs to us look like they're servicemen (Royal Navy?) of some kind as they are both carrying gas masks in the light brown satchels over their shoulders. Also, that does appear to be St Paul's Cathedral in the background behind the other buildings. Hope this helps.

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