Congratulations to J. Granney who placed the the winning bid of $2,500 for October's auction painting "Autumn in Gurzuf" by Alexander G. Gulyaev. The estimated price for the painting was $4,500- $5,500. The winning bid culminated a day of excitement with several bidders submitting bids and counter-bids. We invite you to participate in this month's auction and thank everyone who placed bids last month.

For November, we are pleased to present as our auction painting a portrait that is a serious work by a serious artist for a serious collector. It is the hallmark of a great collector that there is a range of works from a period or from an artist. This is not the appealing children at play portrait that hangs on the walls of many homes. This portrait is sober and yet very subtle. The talent of the artist is beyond question--but it is what lies on the canvass that is cloaked in mystery and question. Like all great portraits, the viewer can feel the soul of the person being painted--yet still there remains mysteries about the painting and the subject.

"Portrait of the Wise Man" by Rashid Mukhametbareyevich Nurmuhametov. is estimated at $3,00- $3,500. Bidding begins at $250, followed by minimum bidding increments of $250. The auction will end Wednesday, November 30th at 5:00 pm.

 BID FORM

Estimated Value $3,000- $3,500 Winning Bid $2,000 L. Fey

Rashid M. Nurmuhametov
"Portrait of the Wise Man"
22¾'' x 19½'', (57.50 x 49.50 cm) 1956, Oil on Canvas
Estimated Value $3,000- $3,500, Winning Bid $2,000 L. Fey

Bashkortostan is located between the Volga River and the Ural Mountains.

Rashid Mukhametbareyevich Nurmukhametov, (1925-1986)

(Translated from the original Russian)

People's Artist of RSFSR, Honored Artist of Bashkir ASSR, and Salavat Yulaev Prize Winner, Nurmukhametov is one of the most outstanding artists of Soviet Bashkiria. His name is associated with the achievements of genre and portrait painting in the Republic. For more than thirty years of artistic work, he created an extensive gallery of canvases, many of which are now held in museum collections in Russia.

The art of Nurmukhametov is active, life-asserting and passionate. It clearly expresses the attitude to reality of the artist-communist himself - a man of our time, who philosophically comprehends life in all manifestations of the new and the old.

Nurmukhametov was generously endowed by nature with the talent of artist, painter, with poetics, broad-mindedness and enormous energy. The artist's works are a reflection of all his human qualities. They cover various aspects of life and bear the light of humanity, patriotism and respect to man.

The art of Nurmukhametov is deeply rooted in his native Bashkir land. His best works are dedicated to its people, history, today's life and nature. It is that main trend which determines the completeness of the artist's work. The national character is the main feature of his art. It lies in the deep understanding of national heroes, national individuality, in the large vital meaningfulness of his paintings and the realistic manner of representation.

The art of Nurmukhametov continues the traditions of the first Bashkir artist K.S. Davletkildeyev, who, starting from 1920s, showed in his works the national life and Bashkir people. It is also consonant with the works of the artists of his age - A.F.Lutfullin and F,G.Kashcheyev- which are dedicated to the national theme. However, Nurmukhametov's heroes are different from those created by these artists. The fidelity to the national character does not overshadow those main traits of character with which the artist endows his heroes; these are clarity of heart, resolute activity and emotionality. Even his lyrical works are imbued with a bright and cheerful humor. The artist's works brings up the eternal questions of life, poetic beauty of the world and man, as well as the traditions of Russian and Soviet realistic art.

The artist's native town is Ufa the capitol of the Republic of Bashkortosstan. It was in this town where the future artist in his young years first encountered the world of art in the halls of Bashkir Art Museum named after M.V. Nesterov. Those encounters strengthened his desire to become an artist. In 1940 the fifteen-year old youth entered the Department of Painting of Ufa Arts College. A year later the war with Germany broke out, having frustrated all his plans and hopes.

Still in his teens, he went to work in a factory. He passed the war years doing hard physical labor - which became an important lesson in life for him. The hard work taught him to value life, people and work. Immediately after the war Nurmukhametov resumed the interrupted education. A decisive role in his artistic development was played by A.E. Tulkin, Honored Art Worker of RSFSR. The high poetic truth and fine artistic culture of his works had a large influence on his pupils, among which, along with Nurmukhametov, there were B.F. Domashnikov, A.F. Lutfullin, A,A. Kuznetsov, F.A. Kashcheyev and others. The pedagogical gift of the other favorite teacher P.M.Lebedev, a member of the Itinerary Exhibitions, was also decisive for the students' obtaining their professional skills.

The next step in the master's development was iat the Arts Institute named after V.I. Surikov in Moscow, where he was admitted in 1950. Upon graduation he did a serious of drawing. and painting and composition studies under the guidance of such prominent Soviet artists as V.P. Efanov, V.G. Tsyplakov and D.D. Zhilinsky. The young artist, improving his skills with great enthusiasm, received there wide possibilities to study on the classical examples of Russian and Soviet art in the halls of the Tretyakov Gallery.

His teacher, the academician of painting. V.P. Efanov, said about Nurmukhametov that even during his studies at the Institute he was distinguished by his talent, and having become an artist he proved to be a good portrait-painter and a master of composition. The painting "After a working day" (1956) became a diploma thesis of the young artist. He raised in it a subject vital for Bashkiria: work and everyday life of oil industry workers. The creation of this painting was preceded by the author's trips to oilfields, painting from life and contact with the Bashkir artist V.P. Andreyev. who started in the republic's art the theme of oil industrial Bashkiria.

The maturity examination was successfully passed by the young artist. He convincingly showed that his art is founded on the laws of humanism and realistic mastery, which are traditional of Soviet painting. Upon the graduation from the Institute in 1956 Rashid returned to Ufa. Ahead of him there were many years of tireless yet fruitful work.