Vladimir Tretchikoff | |
|---|---|
Владимир Третчиков | |
 Self-portrait of Tretchikoff | |
| Born | Vladimir Grigoryevich Tretchikoff December 26, 1913 |
| Died | August 26, 2006 (aged 92) |
| Known for | Painting |
| Notable work | Chinese Girl, Alicia Markova "The Dying Swan", Miss Wong, Lady from Orient, Lost Orchid, Weeping Rose, Balinese Girl |
Vladimir Grigoryevich Tretchikoff (Владимир Григорьевич Третчиков, 26 December [O.S. 13 December] 1913, Petropavlovsk, Russian Empire, now Petropavl in Kazakhstan[1] – 26 August 2006, Cape Town, South Africa) was an artist whose painting Chinese Girl, popularly known as The Green Lady, is one of the best-selling art prints of the twentieth century.[1][2]
Tretchikoff was a self-taught artist who painted realistic figures, portraits, still life, and animals, with subjects often inspired by his early life in China, Singapore and Indonesia, and later life in South Africa. While his work was immensely popular with the general public, it is often seen by art critics as the epitome of kitsch (indeed, he was nicknamed the "King of Kitsch"). He worked in oil, watercolour, ink, charcoal and pencil but is best known for those works turned into reproduction prints. According to his biographer Boris Gorelik, writing in Incredible Tretchikoff,[2] the reproductions were so popular that it was rumoured that Tretchikoff was the world's richest artist after Picasso.[1]
Red Jacket, a 1998 South African documentary, detailed Tretchikoff's life and work.
- ^ a b c Boris Gorelik (2013). Incredible Tretchikoff. Art / Books. ISBN 978-1-908970-08-4.
- ^ a b "Incredible Tretchikoff". Art / Books. 19 April 2013. Retrieved 23 June 2018.