"The Bird"

Post Modern experimental artwork of watercolor on handmade paper by the well known Russian/American artist, Nahum Tschacbasov. Signed lower left and dated 1961. Condition is very good. Provenance: Estate of the artist, Nahum Tschacbasov. Framed floating on cream mat board in a contemporary decorative frame. Overall measurements are 14.25 by 14.25 inches.


Russian-American artist Nahum Tschacbasov (1899-1984) is known for his cubo-surrealistic works which feature a strong psychological element. Some of his work bears a resemblance to work of another Russian-American artist--David Burliuk. He was somewhat of a late starter, moving to Paris in 1932 to study under Adolph Gottlieb, Marcel Gromaire and Fernand Leger. He had his first exhibition in Paris in 1934. He then returned to the US where he joined Rothko and Gottlieb at the Galery Seccession. He was one of the co-founders of The Ten, a group of social conscious abstract painters which included Rothko, Gottlieb, Joseph Solman and Ilya Bolotowsky, among others.

In 1944, he began to work at Stanley Hayter's Atelier 17, a center for surrealistic ideas. Between 1936 and 1943, he had five one-man exhibitions at the ACA Galleries and participated in five group shows. He also exhibited at the Whitney, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, the Knox Albright Museum, the Chicago Institute of Fine Art and Corcoran, among others. His work can be found in the permanent collections of the Met, the Whitney, the Brooklyn Museum and the Jewish Museum.

Tschacbasov has been the subject of two recent retrospective at Fletcher Gallery, Woodstock, NY and in my own gallery, Arthur T. Kalaher Fine Art in Southampton, NY. He was also the subject of a retrospective at the National Arts Club entitled: "Nahum Tschacbasov: A Retrospective" in 2013.