Marc Chagall: Exceeds Expectations at Christie’s London

Marc Chagall: Top Lot at Christie's

A rare painting by Marc Chagall, that was part of a private Swiss collection, was auctioned at Christie's London on February 28, and sold for more than GBP 671,250 (USD 888,000), above estimated sale price.

The Impressionist and Modern Works on Paper sale offered several works by Chagall, including the unique L'été, Les moissonneuses (Les quatres saisons) [Summer, Harvesters (The Four Seasons)], a unique mixed media work on paper.

New Generations of Fans for Marc Chagall

The Kohl Children's Museum, in Glenview, Illinois, has put together an interactive exhibit of Marc Chagall-inspired works for children. Although the exhibit is geared to children ages 2 through 12, many of the parents say that this exhibit has given them their first introduction to Chagall's work.

The exhibit is currently on display, and runs through April 7, at the Arlington Heights Memorial public library, just north of Chicago. Children can create mosaics, weave tapestries, use touch screens to digitally alter Chagall's works and conduct symphonies in a multi-sensory exhibit featuring 14 reproductions of Chagall's work.

The Fiddle: A Young Filmmaker's Homage to Chagall

The 1964 Broadway musical, Fiddler on the Roof, was based on a series of stories by Yiddish writer Sholem Aleichem called Tevye and His Daughters. The original title of the play was Tevye but was changed to Fiddler on the Roof after the fiddler paintings of Marc Chagall, which were the inspiration for the original set designs.

Israeli artist Asher Schwartz, studied animation at Sapir College in Southern Israel. He came across a short story called The Fiddler by Sholem Aleichem, which inspired him to create a film based on the story.

"I was most intrigued by one particular short story called "The Fiddle" Schwartz said in an interview with the Jewish Press, where he has been the cartoonist for the past four years, "about a young boy named Sholom who longs for nothing more than to play the fiddle. However, his father, a more traditional Jew, will not allow music to interfere with Sholom's Torah studies and shidduch propositions. The description of Sholom's lust for music was described so poetically and emotionally in the book, that I could already envision it in animation form."

The film is in Yiddish, narrated by Yiddish theater and Broadway actor, Mike Burstyn, with Hebrew subtitles.

The artwork was inspired by the work of Chagall. "As for the visuals" Schwartz said, "it was important for me to incorporate the style of Marc Chagall in my film as he was an inspiration to the play and film, Fiddler on the Roof. This is evident in the bold color palettes I used. For example, Sholom's house is blue, like Marc Chagall's famous "The Blue House" painting. There may also be two Marc Chagall paintings within the film itself, but I'll leave that to the attentive viewers to find for themselves."

The Fiddle is currently being shown at film festivals around the world.

Marc Chagall Artwork at Surovek Gallery

Please contact us if you would like more information about the works of Marc Chagall available at  Surovek Gallery.