VERSO
Label, The Fechin Institute, Taos, New Mexico
Label, Laguna Beach Museum of Art, Laguna Beach, California

Art historian Rick Stewart wrote, “Nicolai Fechin immigrated to America from Russia in 1923. He had received extensive academic training as a painter in his native land, including a period at the Imperial Academy of Art in Leningrad. Settling in New York, Fechin taught art classes at the Grand Central Art Galleries. During this period the artist was stricken with tuberculosis, and for reasons of health traveled to Taos, New Mexico in 1926 to spend the summer months. Fechin was so attracted to the area that he moved there the following year. He bought a house near Kit Carson Park and began an extensive remodeling program, designing and carving his own woodwork. He became a citizen of the United States in 1931 and within two years had moved to southern California. He built a studio in Santa Monica and painted and taught classes there until his death.

“Fechin was a brilliant technical painter and an effective, though demanding, teacher. ‘He is a broad painter,’ Leon Gaspard once remarked about his fellow countryman and artist, ‘his canvas is as rough as a heavy sea.’”

PROVENANCE
Szymanski Gallery, Beverly Hills, California, 1993
Private collection, Wyoming

EXHIBITED
Southern California Artists: 1890-1940, Laguna Beach Museum of Art, Laguna Beach, California, 1979
Fifth Annual Fechin Exhibition, The Fechin Institute, Taos, New Mexico, 1985

Additional Resources

• Nicolai Fechin’s Past Results
• View Condition Report

Condition ReportSurface is in good condition. Faint hairline cracks in sky and water.

Important Notice: Statements of condition are provided as a service to potential bidders; such statements are educated opinions and should not be regarded as facts. The Coeur d’Alene Art Auction has no responsibility for any errors or omissions.