By Daniel Gerhartz, from Wisconsin (b. 1965)

Oil on canvas; 60 x 30 in https://www.facebook.com/gerhartzstudioTendril of spring

Born 1965 in Kewaskum, Wisconsin, where he now lives with his wife Jennifer, and their young children, Gerhartz ‘s interest in art emerged as a teenager. Studies at the American Academy of Art in Chicago, Illinois and his voracious appetite for museums and the modern masters such as John Singer Sargent, Alphonse Mucha, Nicolai Fechin, Joaquin Sorolla, Carl von Marr as well as a host of other French and American impressionists have inspired him.

Gerhartz has a particular interest and appreciation for modern Russian art and the sumptuous canvases of the painters Nicolai Fechin, Isaac Levitan and Ilya Repin. As Dan says, their paintings are “completely loose yet deliberate and faithful, not at all flashy.”

By Vladimir Volegov, from Russia (b. 1957)

Oil on canvas; 91 x 122 cm http://www.volegov.com/https://www.facebook.com/VladimirVolegovOfficial Emerald bay(2013)

By Sergei Vinogradov, from Kostroma Province, Russia (1869 - 1938)

Oil on canvas; 80 x 102 cm © MacDougall's, Leaders in Russian Art, London
Collection of the Soviet opera singer Elena Katulskaya. Acquired directly from the above by the present owner
Authenticity of the work has been confirmed by the expert V. Petrov
At auction on 27 Novemeber, 2013 (250,000 - 500,000 GBP)
http://www.macdougallauction.com/Authenticity of the work has been confirmed by the expert V. PetrovAt auction on 27 Novemeber, 2013 (250,000 - 500,000 GBP)http://www.macdougallauction.com/Women by the sea (1915)

"Sergei Vinogradov is among those eminent masters whose work gives a vivid picture of the development of the Russian plein airgenre in the first two decades of the 20th century. In the 1880s, influenced by prominent teachers such as Vladimir Makovsky, Vasily Polenov, Illarion Pryanishnikov and, later, Bogdan Villevalde, Vinogradov perfected the skill of narrative painting, bringing a freshness of perception and richness of colour to the Russian genre style, and freeing it from dark “umber” tonalities. Thanks to his virtuoso draughtsmanship and excellent compositional gift, Vinogradov created works on a par with those of his teachers. Robust drawing meant that Vinogradov, unlike Korovin, could keep a tight hold on the form of his subjects and achieve a brilliant impressionistic effect without compromising other aspects of the work.
This marvellous canvas, Women by the Sea, is unquestionably one of the most important works of Vinogradov’s Russian period. The main impact of the work comes from the highly striking relief effect, but it is also striking for the ease with which the artist achieves a highly complex saturation of colour, in the blues of the water and the expanses of the sky. According to the painting’s previous owner, the prominent Soviet opera singer, Elena Katulskaya, the girls in the picture are the daughters of the legendary Russian opera singer, Feodor Chaliapin, strolling by the shore of the Gulf of Finland. It is probable that the painting Women by the Sea, presented for this auction, was exhibited at the opening exhibition of the Union of Russian Artists in 1915–1916."