Pastel on paper

Signed lower right

24 × 18 ½ inches, image size

About the artist: Born in Russia, the Smirnoff family escaped to France in 1917 after the October Revolution, leaving Boris behind in Petrograd where he worked at the Meyerhold Theatre.

In 1927 Boris Smirnoff moved to France.

All of his oils and pastels were burned by the Nazis during WW2 having been deemed "degenerate art”. Because of this Boris Smirnoff began to draw exclusively watercolor on paper after the war. He said: "I can always put these watercolours into a suitcase and to carry away with myself!"

After the Second World War, Smirnoff lived in Great Britain and Portugal, Malaysia, Singapore, Switzerland and the Netherlands.

Many years later, Boris returned to Russia and died there in 2007 at the age of 104. After his death the Boris Smirnoff Foundation was organised to manage his collection. Today, one of the key locations the public can see his art is at the Vineyard Hotel, Newbury, Berkshire, England.