Portrait of a Young Girl Still Lifes America has proved a rich

America has proved a rich vein for sourcing paintings in the last decade but unusually this American oil turned up in a London saleroom

There is so much life in this painting

I don’t think there has been a time when we haven’t had at least one Topolski in the gallery

dying tragically of pneumonia at only 48

While poverty drove him to paint it also held him back

Portrait of a Young Girl Still Lifes America has proved a richIt is a wonder to me that the artist of this highly accomplished little portrait cannot be found listed anywhere. It does happen occasionally but short of the painter using a pseudonym to dodge a gallery contract as often happened or a joker adding their name for some spurious reason, Im at a loss. Anyway courtesy of an American dealer friend and a bit of TLC from our professional restorers here she is, an anonymous 1950s beauty with no past.