SwissArtGallery · Documented identity
Born in Minsk under the name Mordkha Sterling, Marc Sterling (1895–1976) was a French painter and draughtsman of Russian origin whose practice encompassed oil painting, gouache, drawing, wash and printmaking. His artistic trajectory ranges from his early Constructivist beginnings to compositions described in the sources as freer and more lyrical, then to the dark visions of the post-war period and, in the 1960s and 1970s, to fantastical subjects and imaginary landscapes.
He studied painting in Odessa and then at Vhutemas in Moscow in the early 1920s, where he is presented as a student of Vladimir Tatlin; his early explorations were Constructivist. In 1921–1922, he stayed in Berlin, where he met his future wife and held his first exhibition. Settling in Paris in 1923, he joined the international circle of the School of Paris and frequented the cafés and studios of Montparnasse as well as La Ruche, where he reconnected with, among others, Jacques Chapiro, Ossip Lubitch, Lazare Volovick, Michel Kikoïne and Pinchus Krémegne. In Paris, he moved towards Synthetic Cubism, in contact with artists such as Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, Juan Gris and Jean Metzinger.
In the 1930s, bouquets, birdcages and portraits of his daughters were rendered in a manner described as free and lyrical, belonging to a form of dreamlike realism. After the war, his work also included dark and nightmarish visions, which the source associates with tragedy. From the early 1950s, a more varied palette accompanied subjects described as calm and delicate, including nudes and portraits. In the 1960s and 1970s, both colour and subject matter became freer: fabulous animals, fantastical beings and imaginary landscapes characterise this final period.
During the Second World War, Sterling and his two daughters found refuge with friends; he was interned in a camp in September 1941. After the war, he returned to Paris and remarried in 1953, to a young student of Ossip Zadkine. He then lived between Paris and Switzerland, travelling and regularly exhibiting in galleries and at salons, continuing his work until his death in Neuilly-sur-Seine in 1976. Works are recorded in public collections in Paris, notably at the Bibliothèque nationale de France, the Fonds d’art contemporain–Paris Collections and the Musée national d’Art moderne, as well as at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art.
This profile brings together identity references for Marc Sterling and paintings, drawings and works on paper documented in auction catalogues.
Dobiaschofsky
References include catalogue entries and available results; they do not all represent completed sales. Attributed works and special lots are excluded from the priced results.
Oil on canvas
"Perroquet sur chaise rose".
Öl auf Leinwand
Catalogue period : 2026-05-09
Published result : 300 CHF
Fees not specified in the available data
Estimate : CHF 600
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Oil on canvas
"Vase noir et poisson bleu sur table rouge".
Öl auf Leinwand
Catalogue period : 2021-11-05
Published result : 2200 CHF
Fees not specified in the available data
Estimate : CHF 2400
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Oil on artist’s board
Oiseaux affamés.
Öl auf Malkarton
Catalogue period : 2021-11-05
Published result : 800 CHF
Fees not specified in the available data
Estimate : CHF 1400
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Gouache
Der Fisch.
gouache
Catalogue period : 2021-11-04
Published result : 330 CHF
Fees not specified in the available data
Estimate : CHF 600
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Watercolour and Indian ink
"Fillette au canard".
Aquarell und Tusche
Catalogue period : 2021-11-04
Published result : 330 CHF
Fees not specified in the available data
Estimate : CHF 500
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Oil on canvas
"Nature morte - vase - fleurs".
Öl auf Leinwand
Catalogue period : 2018-11-09
Published result : 2900 CHF
Fees not specified in the available data
Estimate : CHF 3300
View the lot at the auction house ↗Oil on canvas
Junges Mädchen mit Blumenstrauss in einer Vase.
Öl auf Lwd.
Date to be documented
Published result : 1750 CHF
Fees not specified in the available data
Estimate : CHF 1200
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Oil on canvas
"Perroquet sur chaise rose".
Öl auf Leinwand
Date to be documented
Catalogue reference — sale not confirmed
View the lot at the auction house ↗SwissArtGallery documentary note based on the cited sources. Titles, media and qualifications are provided in the profile language; the original catalogue wording remains available in each record.
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