Работа над фальшивками, или Подлинная история дамы с театральной сумочкой

In 1932 Papa took me to live with him in Leningrad. […] Every evening guest gathered at Papa's, there were always ten to twelve people sitting at the table. […] Of those who visited Papa's apartment I remember: Anna Alexandrovna, Nikolai Mikhailovich, Konstantin Ivanovich, Elizaveta Iakovleva* — she was a small- time painter, she kept coming every day, and they loved her at our place.

Una Uriman, “About my Father” in Kazimir Malevich. Letters, Documents, Memoirs, Criticism, Volume 2, Kazimir Malevich: Memoirs and Criticism, eds. Irina A. Vakar and Tatiana N. Mikhienko, London, Tate Publishing 2015, p. 31

PROF. CHARLOTTE DOUGLAS: AVANT-GARDE RUSSIAN TEXTILE DESIGN

World War I, the two revolutions, and the civil war did not disrupt the pace of innovation in Russian fabric design. Under new slogans of revolution, internationalism, and classlessness, Suprematist and Constructivist design continued until the late 1920s, when geometric design — on clothing or any other fabric — became politically suspect, and was forced out by a younger generation of artists.

Suprematist design then acquired an even greater importance for Malevich. In his late portraits it has emblematic, philosophical, and even counterrevolutionary significance. In 1934 Malevich painted a splendid portrait of the Leningrad theater designer Elizaveta Iakovleva (illustrated on the same page of the journal as this text.). Dressed in a cadmium yellow hat and a coat with a Suprematist collar, she slyly exhibits a bright red Suprematist handbag. This painting has recently been discovered. Most of the actual fabric and other articles have been lost or destroyed. We must be grateful indeed for Sayler's photographs.

Charlotte Douglas, “Suprematist Embroided Ornament,” in Art Journal, Vol. 54 No. 1, Spring1995, p. 45

Portrait of E. Yakovleva, detail handbag

Olga Rozanova, appliqued handbag, 1916–1917

Symbolism is unquestionably the foundation of his aesthetics.

DR. ANDREI NAKOV, Specialist Russian Avant-Garde

Portrait of E. Yakovleva, collar details

Sketches of costumes for the opera Victory Over the Sun by M. Matyushin and A. Kruchenykh, 1913, details

TRANSLATION STEDELIJK MUSEUM LETTER

4 November 2015

Subject:

Purchase of artwork by Malevich

With the present letter we, as the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, hereby state our serious interest in purchasing the work by Kazimir Malevich, Portrait of E. Yakolevna from 1932, which you are the owner of.

We have taken note of the first discussions of pricing and given that the amount mentioned by you exceeds 20 million euros, it is an ambitious amount for the Stedelijk to bring together. It should therefore be noted that we, in order to be entitled to such funds, need a valuation report from an officially recognized art appraiser.

We are determined to take up the challenge of acquiring this work because we see this as a unique opportunity to complement our existing collection of Malevich works.