Talk:Vladimir Tretchikoff

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Contents 1 References 2 Pulled from the reference desk 2.1 Green skinned oriental woman painting 3 NPOV

[edit] References

I have provided sources for the articles. Capitalistroadster 19:30, 26 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Pulled from the reference desk

(Wikipedia:Reference_desk_archive/Mar_2005_II#Green_skinned_oriental_woman_painting)

[edit] Green skinned oriental woman painting

What's the name of , and/or who is the artist who painted, that picture of an oriential woman with green skin that was very popular in the 1970s? Jooler 22:07, 13 Mar 2005 (UTC)

I think that you are thinking of The Chinese Girl, by Vladimir Tretchikoff. See http://www.tretchikoff.co.uk/, and fix that red link! —AlanBarrett 18:49, 14 Mar 2005 (UTC)

That's the one, link to picure - it was either that or Constable's Hay Wain on everybody's wall in the 70s. Jooler 22:47, 14 Mar 2005 (UTC)

That picture... on everybody's... wall... huh. The reference desk tells me everything. This morning, for example, it tells me why not having lived through the 1970s is probably a net positive. :-) Shimgray

It sure wasn't on my wall. AFAICR, that's the first time I've even ever seen that picture before! RickK 23:02, Mar 15, 2005 (UTC)

I remember seeing it many times. After a little research I've discovered that the Chinese Girl print used to be sold in Boots during the 1960s and 70s. This painting was apparently the biggest selling print in the world, but maybe this phenomenon was greatest in the UK. Jooler 23:30, 15 Mar 2005 (UTC)

[edit] NPOV

"Although Tretchikoff was now seen as one of South Africa's most prominent living artists, he has never gained the recognition that he deserved as a master of realism." seems a bit NPOV, and also self contradictory (was he seen as the most prominent artist, or did he not gain deserved recognition). If noone objects, I'll try to fix it up. -- dcole 00:38, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

You beat me to it. Please go ahead! I'm sure there is something objective to be said along these lines. The BBC obituary mentioned the same thing. It says "But Tretchikoff had a number of critics in the art world, who dismissed his work as 'art for those who hate art.'" If we could find who said that, that would be a good first step. -Dmh 16:25, 29 August 2006 (UTC)

I've ripped it out. I've also removed some of the hyperbole about his realism, because his paintings are very far from photographic realism - look at the body of the "Chinese Woman" for example. He was a pretty competent painter who got lucky.

Although Tretchikoff was seen as one of South Africa's most prominent living artists, he never gained the recognition that he deserved as a master of realism. He was never taken seriously by art critics in South Africa, as, because of the reproductions done of his work, he was seen as too much of a commercial artist and it is only lately that his work has become more and more sought after and has escalated in price at auction houses such as Sotheby's South Africa.

So, he was prominent but unrecognised. He was seen as too commercial, but his work has only recently become commercially popular. There is room for more about Tretchikoff and a sensible appraisal of his importance and style - I'll ransack the newspaper obituaries later today. --ajn (talk) 08:47, 30 August 2006 (UTC)

Also: The first series of very high quality reproductions was executed by Frost & Reed, the London art dealers and print publishers, and sold through outlets which included lingerie departments. - the Guardian obituary mentions his paintings being found in lingerie departments, not their being sold through lingerie departments. It also seems unlikely that Frost and Reed were the first to produce reproductions of his paintings. --ajn (talk) 10:57, 30 August 2006 (UTC)