From these Suprematist textiles practically nothing remains.

The Portrait of Yakolevna is not only a beautifully painted post-Suprematist portrait of a then well-known actress, but also one of the few documents recording Malevich's activities in the field of Suprematist textile art.

The Stedelijk's collection is always looking for connections between the different disciplines that are collected, from textile art to paintings. Adding this paintingto the collection of the Stedelijk further enriches the above-mentioned inherent interdisciplinarity.

The Stedelijk Museum has one of the best abstract art collections in the world. Delaunay, Goncharova, Itten, Van der Leck en Van Doesburg complement and contextualize other major works of Malevich, Mondriaan and Kandinsky in our collection. The Stedelijk also has an extremely strong collection of works that marked the reversal of abstract art in the history of art. There was a “retour a 1'ordre” with works by Picasso, Matisse and the New Objectivity, which after the moral collapse of Europe after WWI addressed the failure of the utopian idea of abstract art. It is precisely in this context that Portrait of E. Yakolevna fits like a glove.

With this letter we want to convey to you our sincere intention to do everything in our power to make this acquisition possible. To be honest, it is our task as the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam to acquire such an important work from private ownership and bring it to the public domain and preserve it in The Netherlands. Our museum is therefore the most appropriate collection for this painting, given the pioneering role we have always had in researching and unlocking the work of this great master of the twentieth century.

Sincerely,

Beatrix Ruf

Bart Rutten