Lot 9. Zygmunt MENKES (Lvov 1896 – New-York 1986). Self-portrait as a Sailor, 1925. Oil on canvas. 73 x 60 cm. Signed and dated lower left “Menkes 1925. Estimate 25,000 – 35,000 euro. Millon. 05/04/21
Autoportret Zygmunta Menkesa niemal jak fotografia! Wczesna praca artysty. Więcej w opisie katalogowym.
Zygmunt Menkes, was born in Lwow (Poland) in 1896 and spent his childhood in an environment that he himself defined as sad. He escapes through his imagination by drawing. In 1914, he started studying at the Art Institute of his native town. In 1919, he enrolled at the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow and left for Berlin three years later. He realized that he had to go to Paris and finally arrived there in 1923. After a year, without resources, he was forced to return to Poland. He returned to Paris the same year with the firm intention of staying.
He appears at the Salon d’Automne and the Salon des Indépendants from 1924 to 1927. He exhibited from 1926 until 1951 at the Salon des Tuileries. Menkes became one of the most original and important painters of the Ecole de Paris. In 1935, he moved to New York where he participated in numerous exhibitions, gained public recognition and received awards. He exhibited in Paris, Warsaw, Lviv, Berlin, New York, Tel Aviv, Toronto. His works are in the collections of the following New York museums: Museum of Art; Jewish Museum; Metropolitan Museum of Art; Whitney Museum of American Art, the Museum of Art in Jerusalem, the National Museum in Warsaw, the Museum of Modern Art in Lodz and the Centre Pompidou.
Zygmunt Menkes portrays himself here as a sailor in the centre of the composition. Every summer, the painter goes to the South of France to paint. He is particularly fond of the coastal towns of the Var and especially Sanary-sur-Mer. Zygmunt Menkes is passionate about self-portraits; he represents himself alone, accompanied, as a musician, with his palette, inventing situations, playing with his moods and the viewer. From his self-portraits emerges a mischievous, deep and joyful personality.
Czytelnik (K. K.) przysłał mi link do tej pracy, sprzedanej w Izraelu w 20219 roku za $20.060. Dziękuję. https://tiroche.co.il/product/preAuctions?prodId=280&auctionId=172&lang=english (04/20/21)
Polish Art Corner 