Vladimir Tretchikoff: Triumph in S. Africa

"Express your passion, do whatever you love, take action, no matter what". 
That was the motto of a self taught russian artist with an amazing life: He fled Siberia and went to China escaping the Russian 1917 revolution. 
During World War II he was on a boat for three weeks without food, after his ship was bombed and then he was imprisoned by the japanese.
He lost contact with his wife and daughter and thinking they were dead he took a lover, but they weren't dead... they got back together again in Cape Town!
Lady of Ndebele

The First Wife of a Zulu Chief

The Herb Seller 
(£50,000 - 80,000 - US$ 76,000 - 120,000)

Thanks to his work in South Africa he captivated the american and english public of his time, becoming hugely successful in spite of his critics who nicknamed him "The King of Kitsch".
After his death the Tretchikoff Trust was established which provides workshops for teenagers throughout South Africa.