DAVID BURLIUK (RUSSIAN 1882-1967) The Living Still Life, circa 1930s oil on canvas 132 x 91.5 cm (52 x 36 in.) signed lower right
PROVENANCE Acquired directly from the artist circa 1930s-40s by Maurice Jungbeck, friend and sitter of the artist. Thence by descent in the family
LOT NOTES The present lot has been kept in the family of the artist's friend for nearly 70 years. It was originally acquired from David Burliuk by Maurice Jungbeck, the husband of Onya La Tour. Together, Maurice and Onya were favored patrons of David Burliuk. His portraits of Onya and Maurice, as well as a portrait of Maurice Jungbeck, shown here for reference, are in the permanent collection of the Indianapolis Musem of Art. A very active dealer as well as collector, Onya was the owner of the Onya La Tour Gallery at 596 Riverside Drive in New York City as of 1937, where, in addition to Burliuk, she maintained working relationships with A. Brasz, John Graham, Philip Sawyer, and other artists. By 1940 Ona had moved to Indiana, where she campaigned for the opening of the Indiana Museum of Art. Although living in Indiana, over the next years she would also work closely with important collectors such as Katherine Dreier, an author of a monograph on Burliuk. La Tour gifted her personal collection to the Indiana Museum of Art in 1972.
