Benois, Alexandre Memoirs. Vol. II.

Translated by Moura Budberg.
With an Introduction by Tamara Karsavina.

London, Chatto and Windus, 1964.
8vo, 267 pp., ill.

In original red cloth. With pictorial dust jacket in fair condition.
In good condition, losses to dj edges and spine, lightly soiled, spine sunned, some dampstaining to dj.

First English translation.

This is the second volume of the memoirs of the renowned artist, art critic, and historian Alexandre Benois (1870–1960). It was translated by Moura Budberg (1892–1974), a Russian adventurer and suspected double agent for both the Soviet Union’s secret police (OGPU) and British Intelligence. Budberg was also known for her relationships with Maxim Gorky and H.G. Wells.
The translation is likely based on the Russian edition 'The Life of a Painter: Recollections', published in New York in 1955. The book is further enriched by an introduction from the celebrated prima ballerina Tamara Karsavina (1885–1978).