λ Boleslaw Jan Czedekowski (Polish 1885-1969), Portrait of Emma Machanek

λ Boleslaw Jan Czedekowski (Polish 1885-1969)Portrait of Emma MachanekOil on canvas, oval Signed and dated 1911 to canvas folded round the stretcher on the reverse 113 x 92cm (44¼ x 36 in.)Provenance:Commissioned directly from the artist by Max and Emma MachanekBy descent to the present ownerThis work was originally painted as a standard portrait which was reframed in an oval. The influential Machanek family were wealthy industrialists, who owned factories in Moravia, Czechoslovakia until the outbreak of WWII. Max and his wife Emma lived in their villa in Vienna and had one son, Erich. These three portraits were commissioned by Max direct from the artist, Boleslaw Jan Czedekowski (Polish 1885-1969). Czedekowski studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna and the portrait of Emma Machanek was painted in 1911 the year he graduated. In 1915 Czedekowski joined the army as a soldier before becoming a military artist. After the First World War, Czedekowski rose to prominence as a society portraitist and had studios in Paris and Vienna.