Marc Chagall

Heffel Auction House Biography and Notes

This lithograph is from the collection of Joseph Liverant, a friend of Marc Chagall. Mr. Liverant was born in Miedzyrzecz, Poland (then part of the Russian Empire) in 1894. He established a successful business in Germany but had to flee that country with the rise of Nazism in the 1930s. Fortunately, he was granted refugee status in Canada, where he used his natural flair for business to develop the international company that he had started in Europe. He was forever grateful for the opportunities that Canada gave him and, in appreciation of this, significant works from his art collection were donated to the National Gallery of Canada. In semi-retirement, he had an apartment in Monaco and a second apartment in Beaulieu-sur-Mer, France, not far from Chagall’s home near Saint Paul-de-Vence. Chagall and Liverant mixed in the same social circles and a warm friendship developed between them. The two men shared much in common. Both were multi-lingual Jewish ex-pats, were of a similar age, had many common interests and, of course, a love of art. This lithograph was acquired directly from the artist. After Mr. Liverant's death in 1981, it was passed to his wife Marguerite, and subsequently to her son, from whose estate this work is being sold. Please note: this work is unframed.