25 - ALEXANDER NIKOLAEVICH SAMOKHVALOV (RUSSIAN, 1894-1971)

ALEXANDER NIKOLAEVICH SAMOKHVALOV (RUSSIAN, 1894-1971) Concert of the Pianist Maria Veniaminovna Yudina, 1943 oil on canvas laid on board 31.2 x 40.3 cm (12 1/4 x 15 7/8 in.) Inscribed on the reverse in ink “A. Samokhvalov / ‘Concert of Prof. Yudina with Orchestra’ / 40 x 31 / Belongs to Maria Aleksandrovna Samokhvalova”, and in pencil “A. Samokhvalov / ‘Concert of Maria Yudina with Orchestra’”, with further pencil annotations on Yudina PROVENANCE The artist’s family, Leningrad Maria Aleksandrovna Samokhvalova (1918-2003), the artist’s daughter LITERATURE L.S. Zinger, Aleksandr Samokhvalov, Moscow, 1982, p. 170, listed as “Concert of the Pianist Maria Veniaminovna Yudina. Sketch,” 1943, 31 x 40 cm, canvas, oil, property of the artist’s family, Leningrad Accompanied by an expert opinion from the P.M. Tretyakov Independent Research Expertise, Moscow, No. 16454-25, dated 18 March 2026, signed by Yu.V. Rybakova LOT NOTES Alexander Samokhvalov studied architecture at the Academy of Arts’ Higher Art School from 1914 to 1917. From 1920 to 1923 he studied painting under Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin, whose influence shaped his early style. He was a leading member of the Circle of Artists and became one of the defining painters of Soviet youth in the 1930s, with works such as Girl in a T-Shirt (1932) and Metrostroevka with a Drill (1937). During the war he was evacuated to Novosibirsk (1941-44), where he painted concert scenes, among them the Concert of Mravinsky, 1943, now in the State Russian Museum. The present sketch shows Maria Yudina (1899-1970), one of the most extraordinary Russian musicians of the century, at the piano before an orchestra in a columned concert hall. Yudina was an openly devout Orthodox believer and an outspoken nonconformist. She is remembered above all for the legend, told in Shostakovich’s memoir Testimony, that Stalin heard her play Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 23 on the radio and demanded the recording. Because none existed, she and an orchestra were said to have recorded it overnight, and the disc was reputedly on Stalin’s record player when he died. The story was dramatized in the 2017 film The Death of Stalin. Yudina toured widely during the war, playing in Novosibirsk and in besieged Leningrad in 1943. This sketch, in Samokhvalov’s softened mature manner, is a rare painted record of her in performance Keywords: Soviet Socialist Realism, Maria Yudina Pianist, Samokhvalov Concert Sketch, Stalin’s Favorite Pianist, PKeywords: Soviet Socialist Realism, Maria Yudina Pianist, Samokhvalov Concert Sketch, Stalin’s Favorite Pianist, Petrov-Vodkin Student, Russian Music Paintingetrov-Vodkin Student, Russian Music Painting N.B. Condition reports are available upon request. All lots are sold in as-is condition at the time of sale. Please note that any condition statement regarding works of art is given as a courtesy to our clients in order to assist them in assessing the condition. The report is a genuine opinion held by Shapiro Auctions & Appraisals LLC and should not be treated as a statement of fact. The absence of a condition report or a photograph does not preclude the absence of defects or restoration, nor does a reference to particular defects imply the absence of any others. Shapiro Auctions & Appraisals, LLC., including its consultants and agents, shall have no responsibility for any error or omission.