Lot 23
Natalia Sergeevna Goncharova (1881-1962)
Lot 23 Details
Natalia Sergeevna Goncharova (1881-1962), Russian
2 DESIGNS FOR DIE MÄR VON DER HEERFAHRT IGORS, CA. 1923
gouache, silver paint, and pen and ink on wove paper
signed to lower right image; titled and dated to museum label verso
each 9.75 x 6.75 in — 24.8 x 17.1 cm
Estimate $10,000-$15,000
Additional Images
Provenance:
Schreiber Collection, United States
Sotheby's, New York, 21 Apr 2005, lot 96
Private Collection, Quebec
Exhibited:
Russian Avant-Garde Art from the Schreiber Collection, The William Benton Museum of Art, Storrs, CT, 20 Jan - 9 Mar 1986.
Note:
These two drawings by Natalia Sergeevna Goncharova were made to illustrate the famous book Die Mär Von Der Heerfahrt Igors, published in 1923. They feature the work by Arthur Lüther from the epic poem “The Tale of Igor’s Campaign” (Slovo o plŭku Igorievě), considered the oldest literary work of the Eastern Slavs, written at the end of the 12th century. It recounts the failed military campaign led in 1185 by Prince Igor Sviatoslavich against the Cumans of Khan Konchak.
2 Designs were part of the exhibition The Russian Avant-Garde Art from the Schreiber Collection exhibition held in 1986 at The William Benton Museum of Art in Connecticut. These two works are made in the typical Goncharova fashion: gouache highlighted with silver paint, and pen and ink.
Jillian Suarez mentions the following about the artist and her relationship to the Russian avant-garde: “Goncharova, like her partner Mikhail Larionov, was closely associated with the literary avant-garde. She illustrated several Russian Futurist and poetry books. Gorod: Stikhi, an illustrated octavo of poems published in 1920, contains lithographs by her, including numerous vignettes and nine full-page illustrations. Goncharova also provided the celebrated Futurist designs for the front and back covers (in Russian and French, respectively).
Another example of Goncharova’s illustrations is Die Mar von der Heerfahrt Igors, an artist’s book with hand-colored pochoir prints on ivory wove paper published in 1923. The pochoir process, characterized by its crisp lines and brilliant colors, produces images that have a freshly printed appearance.”[1]
[1] Jillian Suarez, Artists’ Books Illustrated by Natalia Goncharova, The Guggenheim Museums and Foundation, accessed April 8 2026, https://www.guggenheim.org/articles/findings/artist-books-illustrated-by-natalia-goncharova