1949/​8706

Nikolai Petrovich Bogdanoff-Belsky (b. Smolensk 1868, d. Berlin 1945)

Portrait of the 13 year old Niels Gunnar Haagensen (b. Riga 1923, d. Copenhagen 2018), sitting with an open book, in the background a romantic mountain landscape. Signed and dated N. Bogdanoff-Belsky 1936. Oil on canvas. 78×63 cm. Period frame.

Provenance: The Danish seller's grandfather, Gunnar Haagensen, who went to Riga as a Ford dealer in the early 1920s. Here, he settled down with his wife, and their son and daughter were born here. Gunnar Haagensen often visited art exhibitions, where he took a liking to Nikolai Bogdanoff-Belsky and his art. Subsequently, Gunnar Haagensen bought a number of his paintings. Several of these have previously been auctioned off at Bruun Rasmussen Auctioneers, among others the Russian Sale 872 no. 1425 “In a Russian church”, which was sold for DKK 150,000. In 1936, Gunnar Haagensen ordered two portraits of his two children from Nikolai Bogdanoff-Belsky, and this present painting is one of them, depicting the son, Niels Gunnar Haagensen. The Haagensen family fled from Riga and back to Denmark after the Soviet occupation of The Baltic States began in the summer of 1940. They brought their paintings with them. Thence Niels Gunnar Haagensen's daughter until today.

Condition

Few minimal retouches. Few minimal peelings. The canvas needs a little bit of tightening.

Additional Remarks

Please note: The item is subject to the Anti-Money Laundering Act. In the event of a hammer price of DKK 50,000 or more, including buyer’s premium, the buyer must submit a copy of a valid photo ID and proof of address in order to collect the item.

Auction

Russian theme, 5 December 2019

Category
Estimate

18,000–20,000 DKK

Sold

Price realised

19,500 DKK  

16 bids

When Bidder Bid
(Auto bid) 19,500 DKK
19,000 DKK
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