Notes

From his earliest years in South Africa to the end of his artistic career, Tretchikoff painted portraits of Cape Town street vendors. This may come as a surprise to those who are used to thinking of him strictly as a purveyor of glamour and sentimentality. Here we see Tretchikoff finding inspiration in everyday life.

A Russian who grew up in China, made a name for himself in British Malaya and met one of his best-known models in Java, he was fascinated by interinfluence of cultures. His first show in South Africa was opened by Dr I D du Plessis, a faithful friend of the Cape Malay community, because so many pictures on display were of Bo-Kaap residents.

The earliest Tretchikoff portraits of herb, vegetable and flower sellers from Adderley Street and the Grand Parade were exhibited in 1949. Two years later, just before his tour of North America, he came up with his first study of a lady holding spiny lobsters.

It appears that The Crayfish Vendor was produced in the 1960s. It is interesting that the turban is reminiscent of the headpieces in his Javanese portraits and in his Balinese Girl (1959), a major commercial success. 

Boris Gorelik, 2017

We are grateful to Boris Gorelik, author of Incredible Tretchikoff for this catalogue entry.