Portrait of a young woman was executed in 1902-1903 by famous Austrian-Jewish painter  Lazar Krestin (1868 Kaunas, Russian Empire -  1938, in Vienna). This work was executed at the Spring Exhibition of the Viennese Artist Union Künstlerhaus in 1903. On the back is label of Künstlerhaus with inventory number and dating 1903. Authenticity of the author was confirmed by Mr. Domes (Künstlerhaus Archive), See copy of his e-mail in German.

Krestin was the son of a Talmud teacher. After attending drawing school in Vilna, he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna and the Academy of Fine Arts Munich. He married in Kaunas in 1894 and moved with his family to Odessa. Due to the pogroms in the Russian Empire, he moved to Vienna around 1900 and worked there until his death in 1938. It is unknown whether he acquired Austrian citizenship.

From 1901 onward, he was a member of the Hagenbund and regularly participated in its annual exhibitions at the Künstlerhaus in Vienna. In 1910, Krestin spent an extended period at Boris Schatz's Bezalel Academy in Jerusalem at his invitation. He supported Zionist endeavors.

Krestin became known for his portraits of Jewish personalities, genre scenes from the lives of Eastern European Jews, and scenes from the lives of Palestinian Jews. Artistically, he stood in the tradition of Isidor Kaufmann.

Literature: Prof.H.Fuchs, Lexicon of Austrian artists, Vienna, 1975. Thieme/Becker "Lexicon of artists from antique to contemporary", Leipzig, 1999

Inscription: on the back is inscription in pencil with the artist's name; conformation of Kuenstlerhaus with e-mail (see our last image).

Technique: oil on canvas, laid down on cardboard. Original period frame.

Measurements: unframed w 11 1/3" x h 15 1/8" (29 x 38,5 cm ),  framed  w 14 1/2" x h 18 1/8" (37 x 46 cm).

Condition: in very good condition.