Oil on canvas, signed lower left, presented in a carved giltwood frame with linen liner and gilt fillet.

Stretcher size 28 x 36 1/4 in., Frame dimensions 37 3/4 x 45 in.

Private Collection, Brooklyn, New York

Arbit Blatas was born in Kaunas, Lithuania in 1908, and began exhibiting there at the age of 15. He moved to Paris at the age of 21, becoming the youngest member of the School of Paris. He was a colleague and friend of many renowned 20th-century French artists, creating portraits of them in both oil and bronze. Fleeing Nazi occupation in 1941, Blatas immigrated to the United States to continue his career in painting. After the war, he split his time in New York and France.

In 1947, he was elected a life member at the Salon D’Automne. By 1978, Blatas was named Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur by the French Government, and was promoted to the rank of Officier de la Légion d’Honneur in 1994. The artist exhibited regularly in the principal galleries of New York, Paris, and London His works are also included in some of the most valued private international art collections.

Small abrasion in upper left corner with slight loss; 2" scratch to upper edge, (1) fleabite loss, otherwise good condition.