Tretchikoff is a South African artist, born in Russia, spent some of his childhood years in China and lived in Cape Town. He died in August 2006 in Cape Town.
I can remember, I was 11 years old and we were told by our teacher to prepare a speech about any artist. The first and best artist’s information I found – was in a household magazine, called Huisgenoot , was about Tretchikoff! I can remember I said a lot about him and there were pictures of women he painted…naked! … and a couple of flowery-ones in the magazine. Of course I didn’t show all those pictures in class to the children, but the teacher did look at it.Report from the BBC:
It’s one of the most popular prints ever made and yet many art critics dismiss it as rubbish. The death of its creator Vladimir Tretchikoff has again cast the spotlight on the mysterious Green Lady. She looks unsmiling down and to her left. She has luxuriant black hair. Dressed in an exotic gold-collared robe, her hands are folded out of sight. So far, so unremarkable, except for her skin, a strange blue-green.In the 1960s and 70s, Chinese Girl – to give the 1950 portrait its proper title – graced many a living room wall across the globe.The Russian-born South African artist Tretchikoff toured the world on the back of his painting’s popularity. He generated controversy in interviews, exhibited his work in department stores and became one of the first artists to target the “ordinary” public as the true audience for his work.
BBC report:
Read the entire report HERE on the BBC’s news site….
On THIS LINK you can read the South African Broadcasting Company’s report about his death…there’s also a video report which you can watch with his granddaughter too speaking.
Vladimir Tretchikoff dies aged 92
August 26, 2006, 13:15
Vladimir Tretchikoff (92), a world renowned artist, has died at a frail care centre in Cape Town. Tretchikoff was a self-taught artist. He and his family fled the Russian Revolution in 1917, moving to Manchuria, Shanghai and Singapore, before eventually settling in South Africa in 1941. He is viewed by many as one of South Africa’s greatest artists. His most famous piece was the portrait titled Chinese Girl. Tretchikoff painted ultra-realistic portraits – many of women. His other subject matter included animals and flowers. He worked with oil and water paints, as well as in charcoal and other media
“Miss Wong”
Read HERE more about Tretchikoff on Wikipedia.
Weeping Rose
“Horse race” by Tretchikoff
Balinese Girl
Wild Horses Image: shop.vladimirtretchikoff.com
Chessalee 
Ag genade ek is mos mal oor Tretchikoff!!
Hierdie Balinese Girl is baie nice!!
Hi Wipneus…ja, ek is ook nogal gek oor hom, net jammer dat hy nie meer erkenning gekry het nie, veral in SA!
Hy het nie genoeg erkenning gekry nie Nikita!!!
Ek het iemand geken wat amper soos hy geskilder het, maar hy het dit nooit verder gevat nie. Vandag is hy oorlede!!
[…] artists like Pierneef and Walter Battis, the creator of Fook Island, Bettie Cilliers-Barnard and Tretchikoff to name only a few. I must admit that until now, Gawie Cronje was really unknown to me. I found […]
Dear Editor,
Please could you support us in the mammoth task of sourcing Tretchikoff Original works from around the globe by publishing our call for original works.
Kind regards
Natasha Swift
The Tretchikoff Foundation
http://www.vladimirtretchikoff.com
Tel +27 21 461 48 28
Cel: +27 793 400 609
For Immediate Release
Call for ORIGINAL ARTWORKS for Tretchikoff exhibition at Iziko South African National Gallery
A major retrospective of the artist Vladimir Tretchikoff, entitled Tretchikoff: The People’s Painter, will open at the IZIKO South African National Gallery in 2011. The exhibition organisers are issuing a general call for people who own original works (as opposed to prints) to be exhibited on this show. Originals paintings tend to have a textured, layered surface.
While Tretchikoff is undoubtedly one of South Africa’s most controversial artists, much maligned in the 1960s and onwards by several members of the established arts community, there can be no doubt that he has become a cultural icon and remains a favourite artist to many South Africans. Sales of his work have recently reached record levels at auction and there is a considerable revival of interest in his iconic paintings amongst designers, younger artists and critics. Despite this there has been almost no serious assessment of Tretchikoff’s art and his legacy. This exhibition aims to examine Tretchikoff anew and place him in contemporary perspective.
In his heyday Tretchikoff’s exhibitions drew record audiences at home and abroad and he pioneered the idea of selling affordable copies of his works, enabling working class people to own art which they proudly displayed above their mantelpieces. Works such as The Chinese Lady, The Dying Swan and The Lost Orchid have become a vital part of popular culture.
Readers who own original Trechikoff paintings or sketches (as opposed to prints) are encouraged to contact Andrew Lamprecht or Natasha Swift for further information:
tretchikoffexhibition@gmail.com
Issued: 2 November 2010