Auction 69 - Part II - Avant-Garde Art from the Collection of Uzi Agassi
1. Блуждающие звезды [Wandering Stars]. Moscow: Кинопечать (Kinopechat), 1926. Russian.
Script by Isaac Babel based on the story "Wandering Stars" by Sholem Aleichem – the love story of a boy and girl who flee their city to join a group of wandering actors. Cover illustration and three illustrations in the book by Jewish-Russian artist Alexander Bykhovsky.
Alexander Bykhovsky (Александр Быховский, 1888-1978) was born in Mogilev and received traditional Jewish education. He studied at the St. Petersburg art academy under the direction of artist Nicholas Roerich and was active in painting and scenic design. His works were displayed in various exhibitions, including an exhibition held at the "HaBimah" Theater (1923). In the late 1940s he turned to sculpting, which remained his preferred medium.
80 pp, 22 cm. Fair-poor condition. All leaves and both sides of cover are detached from each other. Stains. Large dampstains to cover and first and last leaves. Tears, mostly to edges of leaves. Creases to cover. Handwritten signature at corner of front cover.
2. Конармия [Cavalry]. Moscow-Leningrad (St. Petersburg): State Publishing House (Государственное издательство), 1930. Russian.
Collection of stories documenting Babel's service as a military reporter during the Polish-Soviet War (1919-1921), when he accompanied the 1st Cavalry Army of the Red Army. Documenting his meeting with the Jewish population and its suffering during the war, the book is considered Babel's best work.
122 pp, [3] leaves, 17 cm. Good condition. Stains and minor blemishes to cover. Tears to edges of binding and spine.
1. Командарм 2 [Komandarm 2], a play, 1930. Cover design by Alexander Surikov (1907-1946).
159, [1] pp, 20 cm. Good condition. Minor blemishes. Signature on front endpaper.
2. Пушторг [Pushtrog], rhymed novel, 1931. Hard cover, with dust jacket designed by Alexander Surikov.
192 pp, 19.5 cm. Good condition. Creases, stains and small tears to dust jacket. Signature on front endpaper.
Ilya Selvinsky (Илья Сельвинский, 1899-1968), a Jewish-Soviet poet and playwright, born in Simferopol (Crimean Peninsula). After graduating, he chose the life of a vagabond and tried his luck at several adventurous occupations, including fishing, working as a longshoreman and a circus wrestler and acting in an itinerant theater. At the same time, he started publishing his first poems, which stood out for their revolutionary, innovative approach and experimental language. In the early 1920s, he decided to abandon his life of travel and moved to Moscow, where he earned a reputation as one of the prominent poets of modernist Russian poetry. He was the leader of The Literary Center of Constructivists (LTsK) group until its dismantlement in 1930. When the USSR joined World War II, Selvinsky joined the communist party and was sent as a military reporter to the Crimean Peninsula. After witnessing the aftermath of the murder of approx. 2500 Jews near the city of Kerch, he published his poem "I Saw it!", which is considered to be one of the first literary texts about the Holocaust published in Soviet Russia. Selvinsky continued to publish in Yiddish and refused to hide his Jewish identity even in the most anti-semitic periods in Soviet Russia. He died in Moscow in 1968.
Four pencil sketches, on three sheets of paper. Not signed.
Vladimir Tatlin (Владимир Татлин, 1885-1953), a Russian artist and architect, a leader of the Russian avant-garde movement in the 1920s and a pioneer of the Constructivist movement. In 1919, he was invited by the Department of Fine Arts of the People's Commissariat for Education to plan a monument to the Third International which will also serve as the headquarters of the Comintern (the international organization of the communist parties). The structure planned by Tatlin, a spiral structure inspired by the Eifel Tower, was meant to be built from industrial materials such as iron, steel and glass and to a large extent reflected the vision of Constructivist art. The plan for the monument to the Third International is considered today Tatlin's most well-known work; however, the monument itself was never built (both for practical reasons and due to the change for the worse in the authorities' attitude towards the avant-garde art).
Three leaves, 40.5X26.5 cm to 44.5X32 cm. Condition varies. Stains. Tears to edges.
Provenance: The collection of A.N. Korsakova, Tatlin's widow (as indicated by the penciled notes on verso).
Ленин [Lenin], sketches by Nathan Altman. St. Petersburg, 1921. Russian.
A booklet with ten reproductions of sketches by Nathan Altman – nine portraits of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin and a sketch of the view seen from the window of his office in the Kremlin. The sketches are signed and dated in the plate ("Nathan Altman, Moscow – Kremlin, 1920"). Lenin's facsimile signature on p. 3. Suprematist cover design by Altman.
In 1920, Nathan Altman was invited to the Kremlin to create a portrait of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, leader of the Bolshevik Revolution and founder of the USSR. To complete this task, Altman spent about six weeks in the Kremlin. Since Lenin did not have time or patience to sit for a portrait, Altman captured his face and movements in a number of quick realistic sketches, deviating from his artistic style at the time, which documented Lenin during his daily routine – sitting at his desk, speaking on the phone, during meetings, and more. By the end of his stay in the Kremlin, Altman created a bust of Lenin, which became the first portrait of Lenin to be shown outside the USSR.
[3] leaves, [10] plates, [2] leaves, 22.5 cm. Good-fair condition. Stains. Strips of paper for reinforcement to inner margins. Detached cover, with stains. Tears to cover edges and spine (reinforced with tape). Stamp and pen notation on back cover.
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Nathan Altman (1889-1970), born in Vinnytsia (present-day Ukraine), an avant-garde artist, painter, graphic designer, sculptor, book illustrator and stage designer. His varied work belongs to various styles – Cubism, Constructivism, Futurism, and Suprematism – and reflects the many changes in his world, both artistic and political.
He began his art studies in Odessa; in 1910 he moved to Paris, where he continued his studies and associated with the artists of the "Machmadim" group which advocated Zionist Jugendstil. In 1912, Altman returned to Russia and settled in St. Petersburg. He spent the summer of 1913 sketching reliefs found on Jewish tombstones and developing a Cubist style based on Jewish folk art. At that time, he founded a Jewish Society for the Encouragement of the Arts. Altman was an enthusiastic supporter of the Bolshevik revolution, after which he was appointed a member of the IZO-Narkompros (the Department of Fine Arts of the People's Commissariat for Education). In 1919, he became one of the prominent artists of the "Kom-Fut" group (Communist Futurists). He worked for the Monumental Propaganda plan conceived by Lenin, and created agitprop art. During the early 1920s, Altman worked as a stage designer for HaBimah Theater and the Jewish State Theater Goset. His Constructivist costume design for the play "The Dybbuk", staged by HaBimah Theater in 1922, incorporated elements taken from Jewish folk and religious art; and his stage design for the Goset production of "Uriel da Costa" was his most advanced Constructivist work at the time. In 1922, his works were exhibited at the "First Russian Art Exhibition" in Berlin and alongside works by Chagall and Sternberg in the "Exhibition of the Three" of the Kultur Lige group. In the early 1920s, Altman was a prominent artist whose works expressed the spirit of the party and the revolution – the rebellion against the old degenerate order – and in this capacity he created a series of sketches and a bust of Lenin. In 1928, Altman went on a tour with the Goset theater and remained in Paris until 1935. While there, the Party's attitude towards art went through a transformation. Already in the mid-1920s the party began furthering socialist realism and restricting the activity of avant-garde groups, claiming art should serve defined goals, be simple and understood by everyone and portray the beauty of communist reality. In 1932, with Altman still out of the country, the central committee of the communist party banned any union of independent artists. From then on, the party imposed its new and preferred style, socialist realism, and avant-garde was pushed to the new status of "bourgeois" art, enemy of the revolution. Returning to Russia in 1936, Altman settled in Leningrad, and as an undesirable artist worked mainly as a graphic designer, book illustrator and stage designer, trying to adhere to the party's new line.
Literature: Russian Jewish Artists in a century of Change 1890-1990, edited by Susan Tomarkin Goodman. Munich /
New York: Prestel, 1995. p. 146.
Six books with covers designed by Nathan Altman:
1-4. Four books by Mikhail Kuzmin (Михаил Кузмин, 1872-1936). Berlin: Petropolis, 1923. Russian.
• Сети [Nets]. • Крылья [Wings]. • Глиняные голубки [Clay Doves]. • Плавающие путешествующие [Travelers by Sea and Land].
5. Гюи де Мопассан, Собрание сочинений, Деревянные башмаки [Collected Works of Guy de Maupassant – The Wooden Shoes]. Translated from French by Isaac Babel. Moscow-Leningrad (St. Petersburg), 1926. Russian.
6. In Umru, by M. Litvakov [Moshe Litvakov]. Moscow: Schul un Buch, 1926. Yiddish. Part II.
Size and condition vary. The book "Nets" rebound in later cover, with original cover from another copy enclosed.
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Nathan Altman (1889-1970), born in Vinnytsia (present-day Ukraine), an avant-garde artist, painter, graphic designer, sculptor, book illustrator and stage designer. His varied work belongs to various styles – Cubism, Constructivism, Futurism, and Suprematism – and reflects the many changes in his world, both artistic and political.
He began his art studies in Odessa; in 1910 he moved to Paris, where he continued his studies and associated with the artists of the "Machmadim" group which advocated Zionist Jugendstil. In 1912, Altman returned to Russia and settled in St. Petersburg. He spent the summer of 1913 sketching reliefs found on Jewish tombstones and developing a Cubist style based on Jewish folk art. At that time, he founded a Jewish Society for the Encouragement of the Arts. Altman was an enthusiastic supporter of the Bolshevik revolution, after which he was appointed a member of the IZO-Narkompros (the Department of Fine Arts of the People's Commissariat for Education). In 1919, he became one of the prominent artists of the "Kom-Fut" group (Communist Futurists). He worked for the Monumental Propaganda plan conceived by Lenin, and created agitprop art. During the early 1920s, Altman worked as a stage designer for HaBimah Theater and the Jewish State Theater Goset. His Constructivist costume design for the play "The Dybbuk", staged by HaBimah Theater in 1922, incorporated elements taken from Jewish folk and religious art; and his stage design for the Goset production of "Uriel da Costa" was his most advanced Constructivist work at the time. In 1922, his works were exhibited at the "First Russian Art Exhibition" in Berlin and alongside works by Chagall and Sternberg in the "Exhibition of the Three" of the Kultur Lige group. In the early 1920s, Altman was a prominent artist whose works expressed the spirit of the party and the revolution – the rebellion against the old degenerate order – and in this capacity he created a series of sketches and a bust of Lenin. In 1928, Altman went on a tour with the Goset theater and remained in Paris until 1935. While there, the Party's attitude towards art went through a transformation. Already in the mid-1920s the party began furthering socialist realism and restricting the activity of avant-garde groups, claiming art should serve defined goals, be simple and understood by everyone and portray the beauty of communist reality. In 1932, with Altman still out of the country, the central committee of the communist party banned any union of independent artists. From then on, the party imposed its new and preferred style, socialist realism, and avant-garde was pushed to the new status of "bourgeois" art, enemy of the revolution. Returning to Russia in 1936, Altman settled in Leningrad, and as an undesirable artist worked mainly as a graphic designer, book illustrator and stage designer, trying to adhere to the party's new line.
Literature: Russian Jewish Artists in a century of Change 1890-1990, edited by Susan Tomarkin Goodman. Munich /
New York: Prestel, 1995. p. 146.
Seven books, out of eight, from the Complete Writings of Ilya Ehrenburg series. Moscow-Leningrad (St. Petersburg): Земля и фабрика - ЗИФ (Zemlya i Fabrika), 1928. Russian. Covers designed by Nathan Altman.
1. Хулио Хуренито [The Extraordinary Adventures of Julio Jurenito]. First volume of the series. With a photographic portrait plate of Ehrenburg.
2. Трест Д. Е. История гибели Европы [Trust D. E. A History of the Demise of Europe]. Second volume of the series.
3. Любовь Жанны Ней [The Love of Jeanne Ney]. Third volume of the series.
4. Тринадцать трубок [The Thirteen Pipes]. Fourth volume of the series.
5. Жизнь и гибель Николая Курбова [Life and Death of Nikolai Kurbov]. Sixth volume of the series.
6. В Проточном переулке [In Protochny Lane]. Seventh volume of the series.
7. Лик воины [The Face of War]. Eighth volume of the series.
Seven books, approx. 21 cm. Condition varies. Stains. Blemishes and tears to covers. Several stamps and pen notations.
For information about Ehrenburg, see item 258.
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Nathan Altman (1889-1970), born in Vinnytsia (present-day Ukraine), an avant-garde artist, painter, graphic designer, sculptor, book illustrator and stage designer. His varied work belongs to various styles – Cubism, Constructivism, Futurism, and Suprematism – and reflects the many changes in his world, both artistic and political.
He began his art studies in Odessa; in 1910 he moved to Paris, where he continued his studies and associated with the artists of the "Machmadim" group which advocated Zionist Jugendstil. In 1912, Altman returned to Russia and settled in St. Petersburg. He spent the summer of 1913 sketching reliefs found on Jewish tombstones and developing a Cubist style based on Jewish folk art. At that time, he founded a Jewish Society for the Encouragement of the Arts. Altman was an enthusiastic supporter of the Bolshevik revolution, after which he was appointed a member of the IZO-Narkompros (the Department of Fine Arts of the People's Commissariat for Education). In 1919, he became one of the prominent artists of the "Kom-Fut" group (Communist Futurists). He worked for the Monumental Propaganda plan conceived by Lenin, and created agitprop art. During the early 1920s, Altman worked as a stage designer for HaBimah Theater and the Jewish State Theater Goset. His Constructivist costume design for the play "The Dybbuk", staged by HaBimah Theater in 1922, incorporated elements taken from Jewish folk and religious art; and his stage design for the Goset production of "Uriel da Costa" was his most advanced Constructivist work at the time. In 1922, his works were exhibited at the "First Russian Art Exhibition" in Berlin and alongside works by Chagall and Sternberg in the "Exhibition of the Three" of the Kultur Lige group. In the early 1920s, Altman was a prominent artist whose works expressed the spirit of the party and the revolution – the rebellion against the old degenerate order – and in this capacity he created a series of sketches and a bust of Lenin. In 1928, Altman went on a tour with the Goset theater and remained in Paris until 1935. While there, the Party's attitude towards art went through a transformation. Already in the mid-1920s the party began furthering socialist realism and restricting the activity of avant-garde groups, claiming art should serve defined goals, be simple and understood by everyone and portray the beauty of communist reality. In 1932, with Altman still out of the country, the central committee of the communist party banned any union of independent artists. From then on, the party imposed its new and preferred style, socialist realism, and avant-garde was pushed to the new status of "bourgeois" art, enemy of the revolution. Returning to Russia in 1936, Altman settled in Leningrad, and as an undesirable artist worked mainly as a graphic designer, book illustrator and stage designer, trying to adhere to the party's new line.
Literature: Russian Jewish Artists in a century of Change 1890-1990, edited by Susan Tomarkin Goodman. Munich /
New York: Prestel, 1995. p. 146.
Seven sketches and proofs of book covers by Nathan Altman. [1920s].
1. Sketch for the cover of the book Рябчик [The Dog Havarbar] by Sholem Aleichem (published by Зиф). Pencils on paper. Not signed.
2-3. Sketches for the covers of the books Награжден орденом [Décoré!] and Деревянные башмаки [Wooden Shoes], by Guy de Maupassant (published by Зиф). Not signed.
4. Proof print of the cover of the anthology Завтра [Tomorrow], an anthology for literary critique printed in Berlin in 1923 (published by Petropolis). Signed and dated in the plate.
5-7. Three proof prints of covers of books published by Зиф: • В Проточном переулке [In Protochny Lane], by Ilya Ehrenburg (Signed and dated in the plate, 1927). • Коммунисты [Communists], by Yuri Libedinsky (Signed and dated in the plate, 1927). • Ножик [The Knife], by Sholem Aleichem (not signed).
Approx. 11.5X15.5 cm to 23X16.5 cm. Good overall condition. Minor stains. A few small tears to edges. Pieces of paper are mounted on verso of one print.
Enclosed is a print by Nathan Altman (signed in the plate, with initials, and dated 1924) – presumably, a bookplate.
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Nathan Altman (1889-1970), born in Vinnytsia (present-day Ukraine), an avant-garde artist, painter, graphic designer, sculptor, book illustrator and stage designer. His varied work belongs to various styles – Cubism, Constructivism, Futurism, and Suprematism – and reflects the many changes in his world, both artistic and political.
He began his art studies in Odessa; in 1910 he moved to Paris, where he continued his studies and associated with the artists of the "Machmadim" group which advocated Zionist Jugendstil. In 1912, Altman returned to Russia and settled in St. Petersburg. He spent the summer of 1913 sketching reliefs found on Jewish tombstones and developing a Cubist style based on Jewish folk art. At that time, he founded a Jewish Society for the Encouragement of the Arts. Altman was an enthusiastic supporter of the Bolshevik revolution, after which he was appointed a member of the IZO-Narkompros (the Department of Fine Arts of the People's Commissariat for Education). In 1919, he became one of the prominent artists of the "Kom-Fut" group (Communist Futurists). He worked for the Monumental Propaganda plan conceived by Lenin, and created agitprop art. During the early 1920s, Altman worked as a stage designer for HaBimah Theater and the Jewish State Theater Goset. His Constructivist costume design for the play "The Dybbuk", staged by HaBimah Theater in 1922, incorporated elements taken from Jewish folk and religious art; and his stage design for the Goset production of "Uriel da Costa" was his most advanced Constructivist work at the time. In 1922, his works were exhibited at the "First Russian Art Exhibition" in Berlin and alongside works by Chagall and Sternberg in the "Exhibition of the Three" of the Kultur Lige group. In the early 1920s, Altman was a prominent artist whose works expressed the spirit of the party and the revolution – the rebellion against the old degenerate order – and in this capacity he created a series of sketches and a bust of Lenin. In 1928, Altman went on a tour with the Goset theater and remained in Paris until 1935. While there, the Party's attitude towards art went through a transformation. Already in the mid-1920s the party began furthering socialist realism and restricting the activity of avant-garde groups, claiming art should serve defined goals, be simple and understood by everyone and portray the beauty of communist reality. In 1932, with Altman still out of the country, the central committee of the communist party banned any union of independent artists. From then on, the party imposed its new and preferred style, socialist realism, and avant-garde was pushed to the new status of "bourgeois" art, enemy of the revolution. Returning to Russia in 1936, Altman settled in Leningrad, and as an undesirable artist worked mainly as a graphic designer, book illustrator and stage designer, trying to adhere to the party's new line.
Literature: Russian Jewish Artists in a century of Change 1890-1990, edited by Susan Tomarkin Goodman. Munich /
New York: Prestel, 1995. p. 146.
Shtam / Azkore [Stem / Memorial], by D. Hofstein [David Hofstein] and A. Kushnirov [Aron Kushnirov]. Moscow: Shtrom, 1922. Yiddish.
Poems by David Hofstein and Aron Kushnirov, written following the Pogroms against the Jews of Ukraine. The last poem in this booklet, "Azkore" [Memorial] by Aron Kushnirov, caused a stir and led to Kushnirov being accused of Jewish nationalism. The opening poem, "Shtam" by David Hofstein, was written subsequent to "Azkore".
[16] pp (including the cover), 22 cm. Good condition. Leaves detached from each other (missing staples). Small tears to edges, some of them open.
Not in NLI.
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Nathan Altman (1889-1970), born in Vinnytsia (present-day Ukraine), an avant-garde artist, painter, graphic designer, sculptor, book illustrator and stage designer. His varied work belongs to various styles – Cubism, Constructivism, Futurism, and Suprematism – and reflects the many changes in his world, both artistic and political.
He began his art studies in Odessa; in 1910 he moved to Paris, where he continued his studies and associated with the artists of the "Machmadim" group which advocated Zionist Jugendstil. In 1912, Altman returned to Russia and settled in St. Petersburg. He spent the summer of 1913 sketching reliefs found on Jewish tombstones and developing a Cubist style based on Jewish folk art. At that time, he founded a Jewish Society for the Encouragement of the Arts. Altman was an enthusiastic supporter of the Bolshevik revolution, after which he was appointed a member of the IZO-Narkompros (the Department of Fine Arts of the People's Commissariat for Education). In 1919, he became one of the prominent artists of the "Kom-Fut" group (Communist Futurists). He worked for the Monumental Propaganda plan conceived by Lenin, and created agitprop art. During the early 1920s, Altman worked as a stage designer for HaBimah Theater and the Jewish State Theater Goset. His Constructivist costume design for the play "The Dybbuk", staged by HaBimah Theater in 1922, incorporated elements taken from Jewish folk and religious art; and his stage design for the Goset production of "Uriel da Costa" was his most advanced Constructivist work at the time. In 1922, his works were exhibited at the "First Russian Art Exhibition" in Berlin and alongside works by Chagall and Sternberg in the "Exhibition of the Three" of the Kultur Lige group. In the early 1920s, Altman was a prominent artist whose works expressed the spirit of the party and the revolution – the rebellion against the old degenerate order – and in this capacity he created a series of sketches and a bust of Lenin. In 1928, Altman went on a tour with the Goset theater and remained in Paris until 1935. While there, the Party's attitude towards art went through a transformation. Already in the mid-1920s the party began furthering socialist realism and restricting the activity of avant-garde groups, claiming art should serve defined goals, be simple and understood by everyone and portray the beauty of communist reality. In 1932, with Altman still out of the country, the central committee of the communist party banned any union of independent artists. From then on, the party imposed its new and preferred style, socialist realism, and avant-garde was pushed to the new status of "bourgeois" art, enemy of the revolution. Returning to Russia in 1936, Altman settled in Leningrad, and as an undesirable artist worked mainly as a graphic designer, book illustrator and stage designer, trying to adhere to the party's new line.
Literature: Russian Jewish Artists in a century of Change 1890-1990, edited by Susan Tomarkin Goodman. Munich /
New York: Prestel, 1995. p. 146.
In Tovl fun Vent (Zamlung), by David Hofstein. Berlin: Funken, 1923. Yiddish.
Volume of poetry by Yiddish poet and writer David Hofstein (1889-1952). Cover design by Nathan Altman.
60, [4] pp, 25 cm. Good-fair condition. A few stains. Closed and open tears to edges of leaves. Pen notation and stamp on title page. Stamp on the last page. Bookplate on the second page. Detached cover and leaves. Tears and blemishes to cover. Missing spine.
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Nathan Altman (1889-1970), born in Vinnytsia (present-day Ukraine), an avant-garde artist, painter, graphic designer, sculptor, book illustrator and stage designer. His varied work belongs to various styles – Cubism, Constructivism, Futurism, and Suprematism – and reflects the many changes in his world, both artistic and political.
He began his art studies in Odessa; in 1910 he moved to Paris, where he continued his studies and associated with the artists of the "Machmadim" group which advocated Zionist Jugendstil. In 1912, Altman returned to Russia and settled in St. Petersburg. He spent the summer of 1913 sketching reliefs found on Jewish tombstones and developing a Cubist style based on Jewish folk art. At that time, he founded a Jewish Society for the Encouragement of the Arts. Altman was an enthusiastic supporter of the Bolshevik revolution, after which he was appointed a member of the IZO-Narkompros (the Department of Fine Arts of the People's Commissariat for Education). In 1919, he became one of the prominent artists of the "Kom-Fut" group (Communist Futurists). He worked for the Monumental Propaganda plan conceived by Lenin, and created agitprop art. During the early 1920s, Altman worked as a stage designer for HaBimah Theater and the Jewish State Theater Goset. His Constructivist costume design for the play "The Dybbuk", staged by HaBimah Theater in 1922, incorporated elements taken from Jewish folk and religious art; and his stage design for the Goset production of "Uriel da Costa" was his most advanced Constructivist work at the time. In 1922, his works were exhibited at the "First Russian Art Exhibition" in Berlin and alongside works by Chagall and Sternberg in the "Exhibition of the Three" of the Kultur Lige group. In the early 1920s, Altman was a prominent artist whose works expressed the spirit of the party and the revolution – the rebellion against the old degenerate order – and in this capacity he created a series of sketches and a bust of Lenin. In 1928, Altman went on a tour with the Goset theater and remained in Paris until 1935. While there, the Party's attitude towards art went through a transformation. Already in the mid-1920s the party began furthering socialist realism and restricting the activity of avant-garde groups, claiming art should serve defined goals, be simple and understood by everyone and portray the beauty of communist reality. In 1932, with Altman still out of the country, the central committee of the communist party banned any union of independent artists. From then on, the party imposed its new and preferred style, socialist realism, and avant-garde was pushed to the new status of "bourgeois" art, enemy of the revolution. Returning to Russia in 1936, Altman settled in Leningrad, and as an undesirable artist worked mainly as a graphic designer, book illustrator and stage designer, trying to adhere to the party's new line.
Literature: Russian Jewish Artists in a century of Change 1890-1990, edited by Susan Tomarkin Goodman. Munich /
New York: Prestel, 1995. p. 146.
Nathan Altmann, Jüdische Graphik [Nathan Altman, Jewish Graphics]. Berlin: Petropolis, 1923. German.
Ten lithographs by Nathan Altman, printed on gilt background. Introduction by Max Osborn. Copy no. 129 of 250 copies.
22, [3] pp + [10] plates with tissue guards, approx. 48 cm. Good condition. Stains. Creases and tears to tissue guards. Binding in good-fair condition, with abrasions, stains and blemishes.
Not in NLI.
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Nathan Altman (1889-1970), born in Vinnytsia (present-day Ukraine), an avant-garde artist, painter, graphic designer, sculptor, book illustrator and stage designer. His varied work belongs to various styles – Cubism, Constructivism, Futurism, and Suprematism – and reflects the many changes in his world, both artistic and political.
He began his art studies in Odessa; in 1910 he moved to Paris, where he continued his studies and associated with the artists of the "Machmadim" group which advocated Zionist Jugendstil. In 1912, Altman returned to Russia and settled in St. Petersburg. He spent the summer of 1913 sketching reliefs found on Jewish tombstones and developing a Cubist style based on Jewish folk art. At that time, he founded a Jewish Society for the Encouragement of the Arts. Altman was an enthusiastic supporter of the Bolshevik revolution, after which he was appointed a member of the IZO-Narkompros (the Department of Fine Arts of the People's Commissariat for Education). In 1919, he became one of the prominent artists of the "Kom-Fut" group (Communist Futurists). He worked for the Monumental Propaganda plan conceived by Lenin, and created agitprop art. During the early 1920s, Altman worked as a stage designer for HaBimah Theater and the Jewish State Theater Goset. His Constructivist costume design for the play "The Dybbuk", staged by HaBimah Theater in 1922, incorporated elements taken from Jewish folk and religious art; and his stage design for the Goset production of "Uriel da Costa" was his most advanced Constructivist work at the time. In 1922, his works were exhibited at the "First Russian Art Exhibition" in Berlin and alongside works by Chagall and Sternberg in the "Exhibition of the Three" of the Kultur Lige group. In the early 1920s, Altman was a prominent artist whose works expressed the spirit of the party and the revolution – the rebellion against the old degenerate order – and in this capacity he created a series of sketches and a bust of Lenin. In 1928, Altman went on a tour with the Goset theater and remained in Paris until 1935. While there, the Party's attitude towards art went through a transformation. Already in the mid-1920s the party began furthering socialist realism and restricting the activity of avant-garde groups, claiming art should serve defined goals, be simple and understood by everyone and portray the beauty of communist reality. In 1932, with Altman still out of the country, the central committee of the communist party banned any union of independent artists. From then on, the party imposed its new and preferred style, socialist realism, and avant-garde was pushed to the new status of "bourgeois" art, enemy of the revolution. Returning to Russia in 1936, Altman settled in Leningrad, and as an undesirable artist worked mainly as a graphic designer, book illustrator and stage designer, trying to adhere to the party's new line.
Literature: Russian Jewish Artists in a century of Change 1890-1990, edited by Susan Tomarkin Goodman. Munich /
New York: Prestel, 1995. p. 146.
1. Ausstellung J. Ryback. Berlin: Lutze & Vogt, 1923/1924. German.
Issachar Ber Ryback exhibition catalog, containing seven reproductions of his works (tipped-in).
[8] leaves (including cover), 20.5 cm. Fair condition. Stains. Minor blemishes. Front and back covers detached from each other and from the booklet. Tears to edges of cover, some open. Detached leaves. Tears and creases. Blemishes to cover.
2. Exhibition of Contemporary Art of Soviet Russia, Painting, Graphic, Sculpture. New York, 1929. English.
Catalog for a Soviet art exhibition held at the Grand Central Palace in New York, with a foreword by Christian Brinton and introduction by Pavel Novitzkiy. The catalog contains reproductions of the works displayed in the exhibition, including works by David Shterenberg, Nathan Altman, El Lissitzky and others. A drawing by Aleksandr Deyneka (1899-1969) is printed on the cover.
[37] leaves. 25.5 cm. Good condition. Stains. Tears and minor blemishes to cover.
Third issue of the journal of the Jewish polygraphic school in Moscow (a school of printing arts). The issue features an article and poem for May 1st (International Workers' Day), an article about the history of printing, prose pieces and poetry, alongside illustrations and a group photograph of the students, and opens with the slogan "Workers of the world, unite!" (Yiddish).
The issue was printed in 250 copies. Cover design by Y. (Yanni) Kagan, a student of the school.
Five issues of "Mir Geyen" were published between 1922 and 1924 (see: Jewish Publications in the Soviet Union", editor: C. Shmeruk. Jerusalem 1961. p. 266; item 3694).
15, [1] pp, 27.5 cm. Good condition. Minor creases and a vertical fold line to all leaves. Tears to upper edges of leaves (not affecting text). Creases and stains to cover.