Double Portrait Of Grand Duke André Of Russia By Nicolas Paganiotti Zarokilli (1879-1945).

ZAROKILLI Nicolas Paganiotti (1879-1945).
Double portrait of Grand Duke André Alexandrovich of Russia (1897-1981).
Pencil on paper, recto-verso, on the back the mention: "Prince André / August 28 - 19". Framed.
H. 30 x L. 22 cm and H. 19 x L. 17 cm (at sight).

Biography
Of Greek origin, born in Turkey in 1879, Zarokili established himself as a cartoonist in the United States, then as a journalist, engraver and portrait painter of high society in the 1920s in Europe. From 1910 to 1919, he provided numerous illustrations for the magazine "The Saturday Evening Post", whether in addition to articles or for the covers of the publication, the latter, always on topical themes praising the feminine elegance of the time. Seconded to Europe to cover post-war events and more particularly the Treaty of Versailles in June 1919, he took advantage of his meeting opportunities to produce numerous portraits of personalities more or less involved in the event.
These studies on the spot, of which we present a testimony, will be used in 1920 for the execution of a set of portraits in etching of which the British Museum keeps a suite. Noticed by the famous Galerie Knoedler Co., an exhibition of his works was organized in Paris from May to June 1925. An eclectic artist with an enigmatic personality for his diplomatic implications, he made a significant contribution to the dissemination of images of the great personalities of his time as Giovanni Boldini, Paul César Helleu, John Singer Sargent or later Bernard Boutet de Monvel have done.