Self-Portrait, ca. 1918

Chaïm Soutine’s work was the catalyst for Pearlman’s collecting, and he ultimately acquired a group of the artist’s works that covered the full range of his subjects: still-life, landscape, and figure painting, including this rare Soutine self-portrait. The artist created just three in his lifetime, all between 1918 and 1923. The others generally have darker tonalities and depict the artist without any of the tools of his craft. This portrait is unique as he has chosen to depict himself before an easel, eyes locked on his subject, poised to put brush to canvas.