There is a great tradition over the centuries of highly talented portraitists from overseas bringing their own distinctive vision to the depiction of the upper echelons of British society. Sometimes it takes a foreigner's eye to capture and glamorise an essentially British 'look'. One thinks of Van Dyck and Lely from Flanders, or more recently of Sargent from America and de Laszlo from Hungary. Sergei Pavlenko belongs to that tradition. (...) Philip Hook Senior Director Impressionist and Modern Paintings Sotheby's, London
		more
		In 1697 the famous British artist Godfrey Kneller painted a portrait of a young Tsar Peter the Great. Some three centuries later the Russian Artist Sergey Pavlenko was honoured to paint her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The connection between two distant events demonstrates that the Russian school of painting, had since the time of Peter the Great developed into one of the finest European schools. It also acknowledges the talent of the contemporary Russian artist Sergei Pavlenko. (...) Pavel Klimov Senior Curator of the Late XIX and XX Century Paintings, The State Russian Museum, St Petersburgetersburg
		more