One of the trends of the 1960s and ’70s appears to be that of the gypsy lady. Gold hoop earrings, dark hair and eyes, busty and a bit saucy of eye… these ladies are exotic and enticing.
If ‘Carmen’ by Turino looks familiar, it’s probably because you’ve seen ‘Ilonka’ by H. Walter:
Similar to the duplication of ‘Tina’ and ‘Nina’ by J.H. Lynch and Van der Syde, there appears to be some kind of plagiarism going on here as well. We’ve had a few copies of ‘Ilonka’ now, which makes me believe that could be the original ‘gypsy lady’. I must say, I prefer ‘Ilonka’ to ‘Carmen’. I like the background and her face more; bit daft as they’re so similar!
Possibly the most hideous picture we have is this:
This one’s an actual oil painting as opposed to a print. I can’t quite read the name: it looks something like ‘A. Rauch-akers’. It brings up zilch on t’internet though, so I’ll have to keep guessing and searching. Aidan brought this scary lady back on his last solo trip; she lived in the car for a few days as we couldn’t bear to bring her indoors. Having said that, things seem to have been going well in the J-H household since she arrived. Perhaps she’s the antithesis of the infamous crying children portraits…
Something a little bit different is this:
Our house is fit to bursting with women of different ethnicities in varying states of undress… this is a refreshing change, really. It took me a while to realise it was even a face! We do not have a sausage dog of an idea of who this is by, but it is so funky and simplishly stylish. I love it!
Last but not least… how could a Tretchikoff wait til last? Well, it’s probably the piece de resistance of Tretchikoff ‘s work – in most people’s eyes, anyway. (My favourite is either Zulu Warrior or Balinese Girl, but I digress…).
Every single trip without fail we’ve brought back a retro print. ‘Chinese Girl’ was found on the last trip and – for once – by me! Usually I walk past everything but I actually found this buried in a cellar room of pictures in a charity shop. The most we’ve ever paid for a Tretchikoff, but they’re always worth it.
Which is your favourite? Of these, it’s the Tretchikoff. It has to be. Although the blue face could sway me…
Related articles
- Tretchikoff at the Iziko Gallery (minutesofmayhem.wordpress.com)
Little Owl Ski 
Hi Emma,
it doesn’t read A. Rauch-akers, but A. Rademakers. The minute I saw the name I had this hunch and I googled it together with the word oilpainting in Dutch. I immediately found a painting of a boy on Marktplaats (Dutch ebay). Very similar. So now you can explore further!
Good luck, Pauline (we met in Amsterdam, how’s the donkey?)
Pauline, hi! That is an amazing bit of chance, you finding it. That’s given me something really concrete to work from to track down my woman and a bit of info about the artist. The donkey is good! He’s nestled up with the rest of them in our bedroom. How are things with you? Emma
Oh I forgot to tell you: the painting of the boy is with a…..donkey. How appropriate!
Pauline
Pauline is right: The name: it looks something like ‘A. Rauch-akers’ is the (Dutch) oil painting artist “A. Rademakers” from the same period as Torino, Lynch…..60’s-70’s.
There are prints known as school boys, school girls…..and also Gypsies.
The feathers are traditional parrot/ peacock feathers jewelry, which are common in the old days!
So it is really not as odd as you think, she is dressed for a party or wedding!
Good luck…..and when I find another A. Rademakers (except the boy) I will surf back here 😉