Lot 336: KONSTANTIN ALEXANDROVICH VYALOV

KONSTANTIN ALEXANDROVICH VYALOV 1900-1976 DESIGN FOR A CIGARETTE PACKET signed in Cyrillic l.r. and dated 1923 t.l. watercolour and ink over pencil on paper image size: 21.5 by 16.7cm, 8 1/2 by 6 1/4 in.

Acquired directly from the artist

George Costakis (1913-1990) was initially a collector traditional Russian works of art and Dutch Old Master paintings; however a chance encounter with a Constructivist painting by Olga Rozanova was to change his perspective entirely. Costakis immediately sold his entire collection and began purchasing the art of the avant-garde, steadily building a personal chronology of art from the revolutionary period. Throughout the 1960s the Costakis collection developed in a manner attuned to its past, branching out into the equally pertinent emerging non-conformist art scene. Having amassed a significant number of works, Costakis opened his Moscow apartment to the general public and his collection formed a poignant backdrop to cultural discussions between friends and artists. This warmth and passion towards his art resulted in lasting friendships with the individuals he endorsed, most significantly Anatoly Zverev and Dmitri Krasnopevtsev. From its early conception, the George Costakis collection has strived to showcase the most prolific and groundbreaking artists of the Russian alternative art scene. Furthermore, it has provided international recognition to a multifaceted genre of thought-provoking art, which has lasted against the adversity of the Soviet government in which it was created.