Cossack with Cap and Rifle. Paris, 1912.

SZYK, Arthur. Cossack with Cap and Rifle. Signed “A Szyk”. (Paris, 1912). Colored pencil and ink on paper. Sheet size: 3 1/2″ x 5 3/8″. Image size:  3″ x 2 1/2″. Very Good condition.

This soldier, with moustache, a short beard and wavy brown hair, looks calmly toward the observer. In three-quarters profile, this portrait is done from the shoulders up. He wears a red and blue brimmed cap; that and the blue shoulder straps identify this man as a Don Cossack. Two straps crisscross his chest and a third runs over his shoulder and probably is attached to the rifle peeping up from behind.

Provenance: Damitz-Heise Family, Berlin.