Anatoly ZVEREV (1931 - 1986) Russian

Untitled, portrait of a youth (perhaps himself), 1958, watercolour and ink on paper, 23 1/4 x 16 1/2 inches, signed and dated in pencil lower left. Anatoly Zverev is the founder of Russian Expressionism in the 1960s (or Tachisme). Throughout his career he was harassed and persecuted by the Soviet authorities especially as his international success grew. An art-lover called Rumnev noticed his work and introduced him to the famous art collector George Costakis (Greek-Russian art collector who amassed one of the largest private collections of Russian avant-garde art in the world) who thought that Anatoly was "one of the most talented artists in Soviet Russia... a unique phenomenon". But Zverev was from an extremely poor family and suffered from mental instability; he was fired from his recreation park job when the director saw him using a mop for his paintings "against the regulations". It appears that Zverev participated in over eighty group exhibitions in museums and galleries around the world between 1957 and his death. He is listed in many prominent collections in Russia, Europe and United States.