Bidspirit auction | Abel Pann ”Soldier and the

Abel Pann ”Soldier and the Donkey” Pastel Drawing - Abel Pann (Latvian/Israeli, 1883-1963). Pastel on paper drawing titled ”Soldier and the Donkey, ” depicting a man dressed in white beside an equestrian form. With a letter from Esther Pann, the wife of Abel Pann, attesting to the authenticity of the work. An evocative Middle Eastern subject by Abel Pann, portraying a mustached soldier wearing a large white turban beside a donkey. Executed in Pann’s characteristic pastel technique, the composition combines carefully modeled portraiture with vigorous, expressive passages of color. The soldier dominates the composition, his strongly modeled face, dark mustache and monumental turban contrasted with the animal beside him and the loosely rendered landscape beyond. The intimate scale and directness of the figure give the work the character of an observed portrait rather than a generalized genre scene. The painting is accompanied by exceptional primary-source provenance: a photocopy of a handwritten statement signed by Esther Pann, the artist’s widow, and dated December 23, 1968, in which she certifies that “A Soldier with a Donkey” is an original painting by her late husband, Abel Pann, and records its sale to Howard Gelb. A later 1992 letter from Gelb further documents his ownership of the work and states that he purchased A Soldier with a Donkey from Esther Pann. Provenance: Estate of Abel Pann; Esther Pann, widow of the artist; acquired from Esther Pann by Howard H. Gelb, December 23, 1968; The Collection of Howard H. Gelb, St. Paul, Minnesota; Private Minnesota Collection. Documentation: Accompanied by a handwritten and signed December 23, 1968 statement from Esther Pann, expressly certifying A Soldier with a Donkey as an original work by her late husband, Abel Pann; together with Howard H. Gelb’s April 7, 1992 correspondence to Mayanot Gallery in Jerusalem documenting his acquisition of the work from Esther Pann. Sight; height: 14 in x width: 14 in. Framed; height: 19 in x width: 19 in x depth: 2 in. Condition: The colors are bold and bright. There are no visible tears or losses. Dust and debris gathered along the surface of the frames. There are losses to the paper backing along the verso. There are tide lines along the verso. Further evidence of moisture exposure along the cloth-line mat. Several residual paper labels affixed along the verso of the frame. Framed under plexiglass. Not inspected out of frame.