March 30 at 11.30 am in Kiev at the Museum of Arts named after Bogdan and Varvara Khanenko (st. Tereschenkivska 15-17) held a press conference (accreditation mandatory), and a media preview of the top 14 lots from the collection of philanthropist James Change. This unique collection of works by the members of the Society of Independent Artists "(group of Ukrainian avant-garde artists who worked in the early XX century in Odessa).

exposition will be open for visitors 31 March and 1 April .

entire collection, consisting of 86 works will be exhibited one lot at an auction of Russian Art Sotheby's April 22, 2010 in New York. The collection, compiled by James changes in southern Ukraine, in 1919, moved to Palestine with the owner. After a series of successful exhibitions in 1920 and a memorial exhibition in 1960-1961, she was not present more than 40 years (except for a few things shown in the Tel Aviv Museum in 2002). According to preliminary estimates sales of the collection should bring 1,5-2 million dollars.

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Jacob Changes were connoisseurs of art and colorful personality, known in the art world of Odessa 1910 - ies, a city that at the turn of the century rapidly approaching the level of Moscow and St. Petersburg. Change has organized several exhibitions of Odessa "Parisians" (these exhibits were highly appreciated by critics) and began gathering a collection of paintings and graphic works. Among the things he had acquired works by artists such as Amshey Nuremberg , Michael Gershenfeld, Isaak Malik , Theophilus Fraerman , Sigismund Olesevich and Israel Maxine.

• Theophilus Fraerman Still Life with Vase
  Oak. 1918

The way these artists called themselves - are "independent" - implies freedom from traditional artistic currents. Indeed, one can draw a parallel between the French and the Society of Independent. Odessa artists were inspired by Matisse, Gauguin, Cezanne and Van Gogh worked in an equally radical painting style and turned to the same subjects - cafes, festivals, street scenes. Many of the "Independent" were personally acquainted with their Western counterparts: Fraerman was familiar with Matisse, Degas worked with and is not often visited Rodin's studio, but Nuremberg was in private academies in Paris and rented a studio from Chagall . The group also exhibited the Wassily Kandinsky and the Moscow association 'Jack of Diamonds "in 1914, demonstrating the relevance and high artistic quality of their work.

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change in a long time had intended to move his collection to Palestine, and even hoped that the Nuremberg Malik and Fraerman would join him and together to open a museum dedicated to the "Independent". After the arrival of Change in Tel Aviv has a collection shown several times, attracting active attention both critics and Israeli artists.

first mayor even asked to leave several works Change the Tel Aviv Art Museum . Changes had to refuse, not wanting to break up a coherent collection. Subsequently, in addition to his memorial exhibition, all the artists were exhibited together again in only in 2006 at the Museum of Russian Art of Mary and Michael Tseitlin Ramat Gan. The exhibition was a great event because not only first-class collections, but also because it re-opened the viewer a feature layer, considered to be lost forever.

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Source: press release Sotheby's