Chagall frequently painted his relatives: his father, his brother David, and his sisters Maryasenka, Liza and Anna.
Maryasenka (Marusya) was born on 27 March 1902 in Vitebsk, and died on 29 November 1992 in St Petersburg. She married Zalk Solomon Gribov in 1926 in Leningrad (For more information, see: Petrova, E. N. “Shagal i ego rodstvennye svyazi s Rossiei”. Gosudarstvenny Russky muzei. Stranitsy istorii otechestvennogo iskusstva. Konets XIX–XX vek. Ed. 6. St Petersburg, 1999, pp. 53–64).
This portrait was shown in 1916 in Moscow at the Knave of Diamonds exhibition (No. 355, Maryasenka) and was part of the V. A. Lurie Collection (Petrograd) at that time.

Chagall Marc

Chagall, Marc (Shagal, Mark Zakharovich)
1887, Vitebsk - 1985, St Paul de Vence (France)
Painter, graphic artist. Studied at the Yehuda Pen School in Vitebsk (1906), School of Drawing, Society for the Encouragement of the Arts (1907-08), Seidenberg''s studio, under Mstislav Dobuzhinsky and Leon Bakst at the Elizaveta Zvantseva School of Drawing and Painting (1908-09) and in private studios in Paris (1910-14). Contributed to the exhibitions of the World of Art (1912), Donkey''s Tail (1912), Salon des Independants (1912-14) and Jack of Diamonds (1916). Lived in Vitebsk and Petrograd (from 1915), director of the Vitebsk School of Art. Moved to Moscow (1920) and worked for the Jewish Chamber Theatre. Illustrated Nikolai Gogol''s Dead Souls and La Fontaine''s frobtes for Ambroise Vollard. Designed the sets and costumes for a production of Igor Stravinsky''s ballet The Firebird (1945). Retrospective exhibition at the Museum of Modern An in New York (1946). Lived in Paris (from 1923), USA (from 1941) and St Paul de Vence (from 1950).