An undiscovered artist

Christina Papavasileiou, a Greek painter and the aunt of one of my earliest childhood friends. She studied in the School of Fine Art in Athens in the 1930s where she was one of the few women students and then she won a scholarship to go to Paris. This was not the 'done' thing for women at that time, and her family did not allow her to go. (The second runner upper for the scholarship was Yannis Moralis and the scholarship went to him but in the end Moralis studied in Italy, but this is not relevant to this story). Her artistic life and productivity would have been very different had she been allowed to continue her studies and allow her talent to flourish.  When she died in 1982 seventy canvasses were found in her attic, all rolled up together. When her family looked at them they found real treasures indicative of a great talent and beauty.

We went to the third, very small exhibition of what has been left unsold of that discovered treasure. The majority of these paintings, which are oils, were painted in the 1930s.

Female Nude, 109x69 cm

Crucifiction, 99x69

Cypresses, 50x40

Man tearing his clothes, 60x47

The Street, 44x39

Man Deep in Thought, 61x47

Girl with Pitcher, 64x53

Girl in Blue Dress, 103x69

The Wash, 45x54

Water Mill, 46x60

Woods, 35x28

Young Woman, 45x38

Young Woman with Red Scarf, 45x33

Woman in Brown Dress, 48x39

Entrance, 26x34

Man Wearing Glasses, 45x35

Woman, 45x35