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Lot Essay
Oreste Allegri, Sr. (1866-1954) worked as a set designer and director in the Imperial Theatres of St Petersburg before he left for France in 1919, where he lived until his death. Allegri collaborated with numerous artists such as Serge Diaghilev (1872-1929) and Ida Rubinstein (1885-1960) when she formed her own dance company in Paris. He was known primarily for his phenomenal architectural sensibility, which allowed him to create illusions of great and complex spaces on the stage, not to mention on paper, as beautifully shown by his exquisite designs for Rimsky-Korsakov's 'Le Coq d'or'.
Oreste Allegri, Sr.'s son followed in his father's footsteps as a set designer. Oreste Jr. married Paraskeva Plistik (1898-1986), a painter who had studied under Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin (1878-1939). The couple's union was cut short due to a tragic accident that took Oreste Jr's life. Widowed with a young son, she moved to Paris in 1921 and eventually to Toronto in the early 1930s where Paraskeva remarried a Canadian named Philip Clark. There she continued her career as a painter, gaining fame and admiration. Her works are now housed in prestigious public and private Canadian collections.
After the death of her husband, Paraskeva maintained close ties with Oreste Sr. When the latter visited her and her family in 1946, he gave her a collection of works created by him as well as by fellow artists, such as Alexandre Benois (1870-1960) and Mstislav Dobuzhinsky (1875-1957), which Christie's is honoured to offer for sale.
Oreste Allegri, Sr.'s son followed in his father's footsteps as a set designer. Oreste Jr. married Paraskeva Plistik (1898-1986), a painter who had studied under Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin (1878-1939). The couple's union was cut short due to a tragic accident that took Oreste Jr's life. Widowed with a young son, she moved to Paris in 1921 and eventually to Toronto in the early 1930s where Paraskeva remarried a Canadian named Philip Clark. There she continued her career as a painter, gaining fame and admiration. Her works are now housed in prestigious public and private Canadian collections.
After the death of her husband, Paraskeva maintained close ties with Oreste Sr. When the latter visited her and her family in 1946, he gave her a collection of works created by him as well as by fellow artists, such as Alexandre Benois (1870-1960) and Mstislav Dobuzhinsky (1875-1957), which Christie's is honoured to offer for sale.