Auction Date:2014 Oct 22 @ 20:00 (UTC-7 : PDT/MST)
Location:2320 W Peoria Ave Suite B149, Phoenix, Arizona, 85029, United States
Combining time-honored religious icon painting with western style portraiture, the hauntingly beautiful art of Sergey Smirnov (1953-2006) is inspired by the 'Parsuna' art movement. "Tamara" is a limited edition mixed media on canvas, printed in 2006, numbered in verso (#44/99) and hand-signed by the artist. Measures approximately 13" x 17" (image).
The piece includes an LOA and lifetime authenticity guarantee from Pristine Auction.
Authentication: Pristine Auction LOA (details)
About Sergey Smirnov:
Sergey Smirnov was born in 1953, in the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia, to a father who was an army officer. In his late teen years, the Smirnov family relocated and settled in Moscow. In 1979 Sergey began taking classes at the Moscow City Art College, where he graduated as class valedictorian, with a master’s degree in art in 1984. Due to the great skill he displayed with church and cathedral art restorations he gained a notable position as an art restorer for aging church icons and frescoes; his restoration work still exists in many Russian churches. In 1988, Smirnov became a member of the International Federation of Artists and the National Artists’ Union of Russia. And by 1991 Smirnov’s career had taken a different, more commercial route, as he became the Chief Editor for the Advertising and Image Creation Corporation of the Russian government’s International Trade Corporation. While working in Advertising, Smirnov worked for various corporations, designing logos and graphics, many of which won national and international awards. It was his success with this career that spirited his sole devotion to painting in 1994, and inspired him to frequently participate in solo and group exhibitions. In 1996, Smirnov was exhibited at the historic Orlean House in London. In 1997, he was honored as only the third living artist to have a personal exhibit in the Kremlin’s Manezh, which is ranked as one of the most prestigious art galleries in the world. His personal exhibits dazzled and amazed the public as well as critics. Because his art was received so well, it has become extremely sought after throughout the world and is included in several noteworthy Russian collections, including those of the former Russian President Boris Yeltsin, former Prime Minister Victor Chernomirdin, former Minister of Transportation Sergey Frank and former Minister of Defense Evgeny Shaposhnikov, just to name a few. In July 2001, he signed a contract with Fingerhut Group Publishers in California. From 2001 to 2006, Smirnov’s paintings were exhibited in the Fingerhut Galleries in California and Fingerhut Group began, and continues to, release graphic limited editions of his work. Unfortunately, Sergey Smirnov died of a sudden heart attack in Sausalito as he was heading to his solo exhibition in La Jolla on November 8th, 2006. Smirnov’s art has been influenced by Gustav Klimt, the Austrian painter whose work is said to be the cornerstone of the Art Nouveau movement, which was a reaction to the rigidity of academic art and attempted to harmonize lines and forms. Andrei Rublev and Pheophan Grek, masters of Slavic icon painting, have also had a notable influence on Smirnov’s work. And of course Modigliani and Rembrandt have also been noted as being rather influential artists for Smirnov in the realm of western portraiture. Smirnov’s style resembles that of his favorite period of Russian art known as the Parsuna movement. 'Parsuna' or 'mask', derives from the Latin word 'persona', and the movement itself speaks to the transition from archaic religious icon painting to a more western style of personal portraiture that became popular in the late 17th - early 18th century. The art created by Smirnov's technique has been described as 'jewel like' due to his refined touch on an otherwise rough style; and his deeply saturated hues along with textured backgrounds create depth and intrigue surrounding his subjects. Smirnov's art encompasses many aspects of Russian and Western art technique, but the haunting beauty of his personal style is what sets Smirnov apart and makes him a master of breathtakingly unique works of art.
Auction Location:
2320 W Peoria Ave Suite B149, Phoenix, Arizona, 85029, United States
Buyer's Premium: A 15% buyer's premium will be added to the final bid of each lot. The buyer's premium is displayed in each individual auction.
Buyer's Premiums:
| From (Incl.) | To (Excl.) | Premium |
| 0.00 |
Infinite |
15% |
Additional Fees:
Shipping Details:
The winning bidder is responsible for the cost of shipping. The winning bidder will pay our cost to ship the order. We do not charge a handling fee. Multiple items won by the same bidder will be shipped together to keep the cost of shipping to a minimum.
If you would like a shipping estimate, please e-mail us at sales@pristineauction.com
Payment Details:
Payment is due in full within 7 days of the end of an auction (unless prior arrangements have been made). Payments can be made by Cash, Check, Money Order, or Credit Card. Check's and Money Orders will be held until cleared (typically 3-7 business days). We accept all major credit cards (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover). Credit card payments can be made directly through our website or by calling 602-626-5218. Appropriate shipping charges are added to each order. If payment has not been made manually within the 7 days, the credit card on file may automatically be charged for your order.
Accepted Payment Methods:
- VISA
- Master Card
- AMEX
- Discover
- Money Order/Bank Draft
- Check/Cheque
A bid being placed on an auction item is an agreement to the auction terms and conditions as explained below. Pristine Auction is a JCK Enterprises L.L.C. company.
Bidder Registration: All bidder's must be 18 years of age or older to participate in the auction. Pristine auction reserves the right to suspend a registered user and/or cancel the bid of a registered user for any reason.
Bidding: Minimum bid increment is 5% of the current high bid. Bids are accepted 24 hours a day directly through our website (www.pristineauction.com). Our site will automatically generate and send an e-mail when a bidder is outbid on an auction. This is provided as a courtesy service to our bidders and is a non-guarantee service. Although rare, it is possible for our site to encounter interruptions in service or malfunctions. We reserve the right to suspend, cancel, or extend auctions that have been affected by such an occurrence. At the end of each auction, winning bidders will be notified as soon as possible via e-mail. In order to ensure delivery of all of our e-mails, please add sales@pristineauction.com to your address book.
Extended Bidding: Our auction timer corresponds with Eastern Standard Time. All auctions are set up with a 10 minute extended bidding period. The extended bidding period is initiated once an auction countdown is below 10 minutes. During the extended bidding period, all new bids reset the auction countdown to 10 minutes. An auction ends when no new bids are entered for a full 10 minutes. Each auction is on an independent timer so auctions will end at different times.
Returns: All items are shown and described to the best of our ability. Please ask any necessary questions before placing a bid. Items authenticated by an industry recognized third party authenticator may not be returned. Items accompanied by a Pristine Auction LOA can be returned for authenticity purposes if they have been reviewed and rejected by an acceptable authenticator. Acceptable authenticators are as follows: PSA/DNA, JSA, Global Authentics, or PAAS. All auction sales are final except in very limited circumstances (as described above or if a lot is grossly misrepresented). If winning bidder believes a lot was misrepresented he/she must contact us within 7 days of receipt of the lot with written explanation of the alleged gross error. If it is deemed that a gross error has occurred, it is the Buyer's responsibility to return the lot in question within seven (7) days of notice or evaluation.
Reserve: We reserve the right to place a reserve on auctions. Reserves are determined before the start of an auction. If bidding does not meet or exceed the predetermined reserve price, the lot will be returned to the consignor or relisted into a future auction.
Auction Cancellation: We reserve the right to cancel an auction at any time for any reason.
Disputes: If any disputes arise, legal action will go before the AAA (American Arbitration Association) and will take place in Arizona. By bidding on the auction (and thus agreeing to our auction policies) the right to trial by jury in any and all legal disputes is forfeited.