PINCHAS LITVINOVSKY (ISRAELI/RUSSIAN 1894 - 1985) Indian woman and a teepee signed in Hebrew (lower left) oil on canvas 100 x 81 cm (39 1/4 x 32 in) PROVENANCE: Estate of the artist The authenticity of this work has been confirmed by Moshe Cohen and is recorded in the artist's estate under no. 232 Born in Novo-Georgiyevsk, Russia, to a religious family of merchants, Litvinovsky was awarded a scholarship to study at the Art Academy in Odessa. There he met Boris Schatz (1866 -1932), the founder of the Bezalel School of Arts and Crafts in Jerusalem, where Schatz persuaded him to continue his studies, before returning to the Art Academy in Petrograd. Forced to flee Russia because of the pogroms at the time of the Revolution, he emigrated to Israel in 1919, settling with his family in Jerusalem, before moving to the Bitanya commune in Galilee. From 1924 to 1928, Litvinovsky participated in exhibitions of the Jewish Artists Association at the Jerusalem Citadel and shows at the Ohel Theatre in Tel Aviv. In 1926, he designed the set for the Habimah production of The Dybbuk , under the direction of Menahem Gnessin, and met the actress Hanna Rovina who became a favourite model. In the 1930s, he made several trips to Paris, where he encountered the art of Matisse, Picasso, Rouault, and artists of the Jewish School of Paris. In 1935, he held his first solo exhibition at the Bezalel National Museum, and in 1939 was awarded the Dizengoff Prize. During the 1930s he and his family shared a house with Moshe Mokady. Together the two artists established a painting studio.