In this artwork, how is the Background discussed?
Yrjö Antti Favén was a Finnish cosmopolitan, born in Helsinki. He lived in Paris from 1902 to 1913, where he worked in the rue de Saint-Senoch. By the end of the nineteen-thirties he settled in Sweden, where he naturalized two years before his death.
When speaking about The Chess Players, Favén mentioned amongst others his friendship with  Frank Marshall and other chess players in the Café de la Régence. He also indicated that the painting would be offered to the first chess player who would win the Finnish chess championship for the third time. As Eero Böök (1910-1990) did so in 1936, it is assumed that he has received the painting at that time.
Böök has made a copy of the painting, which was anno 2016  at Shakkikoti, a chess club at Helsinki. The original appears to have eventually passed into the hands of the Swedish chess grandmaster Erik Lundin (1904-1988), who in turn has donated the painting to the Swedish Chess Union. Currently, this painting is on display in Stockholms Schacksalonger, at Stockholm.
Stockholm Antti Favén Frank Marshall cosmopolitan Café de la Régence Finnish Eero Böök Helsinki Swedish Sweden Paris Erik Lundin