Stepan Dmitrievich Nefyodov (Stephen) Erzia (1876-1959) Russian 'Head of a Woman', carved in quebracho wood, signed 'S. Erzia', mounted on a wooden plinth finished in grey, 54cm high. Erzia's earliest artworks were icons and decorative features inside churches in the Volga area of Russia. He studied at the Kazan Art School, and then the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture (1902-06). After travelling, working and exhibiting to great acclaim across Europe from 1906-14, he returned to Russia where he created portraits of Lenin, Marx and Engels amongst others. In 1926, the Soviet regime sent him abroad "to spread knowledge of Soviet art", and he settled in Argentina in 1927, where he worked until 1950. It was there where he developed methods of working with extra-hard native woods such as the quebracho used for this expressive sculpture. After his return to the Soviet Union, he was awarded the prestigious Order of the Red Banner of Labour in 1956 for his cultural and artistic deeds and services to the Soviet Union. Known internationally as the 'Russian Rodin' or the 'Russian Michaelangelo', Erzia is considered one of Russia's most original, talented and professional sculptors. This is an excellent, dramatic and very high quality example of his work.