Vladimir Griegorovich Tretchikoff (South African, 1913-2006)Fruits of Bali
indistinctly signed (lower right)
oil on canvas
76.5 x 66.5cm (30 1/8 x 26 3/16in).注脚Provenance
The collection of Ft. Lt. Richard O. Hellyer.
Stephan Welz, Cape Town, 27 May 2008, lot 543.
A private collection, Cape Town.

Exhibited
London, Harrods, 1961.
Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg, Vancouver, Victoria, May 1965.

Literature
Tretchikoff & Timmins, Tretchikoff, (1969). Illustrated.
Gorelik, Incredible Tretchikoff: Life of an Artist and Adventurer, (2013). Illustrated p.204 & 288.


Fruits of Bali is one of Tretchikoff's most beloved and recognizable paintings. The portrait depicts a South African woman dressed in Southeast Asian attire. She carries a large bowl of tropical fruit – perhaps an offering to a temple just out of frame. The vivid palette accentuates the sensual exoticism of the work; the colours are jewel-like, lending the painting an almost iridescent quality.

Tretchikoff's love affair with the Far East begun when his family relocated from Russia to China shortly after the Revolution of 1917. He spent the early 1930s in Shanghai, before moving to Singapore in 1935. However, the real inspiration for this portrait and her celebrated companion Balinese Girl came from his experience as a prisoner of war in the Second World War. Tretchikoff was evacuated when Japan invaded Singapore in 1942. However, his boat was sunk and he was forced to row for 21 days to Java, where he was interned by Japanese forces. Fortunately, Tretchikoff was released after a few months and he spent the rest of the war in Jakarta painting.

Whilst this was an intensely productive period for the artist, he did not exhibit the works until 1948, after he moved to South Africa. It is therefore difficult to ascertain precisely when Fruits of Bali was painted. However, the portrait was certainly executed before 1960, as it was lauded as one of the highlights of Tretchikoff's exhibition at Harrods in London in 1961. The exhibition was an immense success, attracting over 200,000 visitors. It was also selected for the artist's tour of Canada in 1965, and was admired by more than 490,000 people.

Although the sitter for Fruits of Bali was an exoticised South African model, and represents a romantic ideal, Tretchikoff did have a real woman in his mind's eye. Her name was Ni Pollok and she was a Legong dancer. One of Bali's most visually alluring royal court performances, Legong is a highly respected art form in Indonesia. Ni Pollok was married to the Belgian artist Adrien-Jean Le Mayeur de Merprès. For Tretchikoff, she embodied the grace and beauty of the island.

Fruits of Bali was originally owned by the Battle of Britain veteran, Flight Lieutenant Richard Hellyer. In 1940 Hellyer was shot down in his Spitfire over Dunkirk. Having recovered from his injuries, he made his way back to the UK and re-joined the squadron. They operated from RAF Kenley, one of the main fighter stations that protected the British capital from the Luftwaffe attacks. After the war, Hellyer was demobbed and emigrated to South Africa, where he settled in the Cape and purchased the renowned Saldanha Bay Hotel.

We would like to thank Boris Gorelik for his assistance in the cataloguing of this lot.