Arkady Shaikhet (1898-1959)
Express, 1939
Vintage gelatin silver print
Photographer’s stamp and signature in blue pencil on verso
Title in Cyrillic and date in pencil on verso
15 11/16 x 21 1/4 in. (39.8 x 54.0 cm)
Express has become an iconic symbol of the dynamism and innovation of the Soviet 1930s. Steam and cloudy skies envelop the train’s dark skeleton. Speeding down the tracks, the train resembles a zeppelin preparing to launch. The train was named the “Red Arrow” and ran between Moscow and St. Petersburg (then Leningrad). A triumph of Soviet industrial technology, only two Red Arrow trains were ever built. Along with the Soviet metro and developments in aviation, the engine captured in Express is emblematic of 1930s Soviet industrial design.
Sergey Shimansky (1898-1972)
Moldova Harvest, 1930s
Vintage gelatin silver print on heavyweight paper
Photographer's stamp on verso, title on verso
15 7/8 x 23 1/8 in. (39.7 x 58.5 cm) paper
15 5/8 x 23 1/8 in. (39.5 x 58.5 cm) image
Sergey Shimansky (1898-1972)
Navy Fleet, Black Sea, 1930s
Vintage gelatin silver print on heavyweight paper
15 5/8 x 22 7/8 in. (39.5 x 58 cm) paper
15 x 22 7/8 in. (38 x 58 cm) image
Foto S Shimansky stamp on verso
Title and date in Cyrillic on verso
Boris Ignatovich (1899-1976)
Youth, 1937
Vintage gelatin silver print mounted on board
Title and date in pencil in Russian on verso
Photographer's stamp in ink on verso
16 1/2 x 21 15/16 in. (41.9 x 55.7 cm)
Among Ignatovich's most beloved works of art, this photograph is a timeless celebration of the joy and energy of youth. The artist positioned his subjects in a triangle composition that successfully corresponds to the rounded shape of the camera lens, and the interaction of light and shadow gives the photograph a warm vitality. He gave the image a warm vitality by masterfully balancing depth and tone, light and shadow — a technical control of light that he developed in the 1920s. This photograph has become an icon of Soviet photography, and this large-size print was made for an exhibition and is very rare.
Emmanuil Noevich Evzerikhin (1911-1984)
Paratroopers: Preparations to an Air Force Parade in Tushino for the Celebration of the All-Union Day of Soviet Aviation
August 1939-1940
Vintage gelatin silver print, mounted
Signed and titled on verso
22 x 12 in. (56 x 30.5 cm)
Evzerikhin’s tight vertical framing accentuates the great height and range of the many parachutes, some of which are so small as to be almost indistinguishable; on the grass below, some paratroopers in the distance are gathering their gear, while one large balloon in the foreground is still full of air, its pattern and size on proud display, anchoring the composition.
Georgy Petrusov (1903-1971)
Armenian Delegation at Sport Parade, Red Square, Moscow, 1935
Vintage gelatin silver print
Title, date, photographer's name in pencil on verso
18 1/2 x 12 3/8 inches (47.0 x 31.4 cm)
A trio of Armenian athletes stand before a 1935 sports parade in Moscow’s Red Square. Petrusov meticulously planned his composition, as evident in the Armenian Delegation’s impeccable geometry. The interlinked pattern created by the figures’ backs conveys the fraternity and unbreakable bond between the athletes. Petrusov also structured his photograph as a cinematic shot, creating a deep perspective: focusing on the trio in the foreground, and illuminating the performance space with shadowy silhouettes of dancers in the distance. A rare vintage print, Armenian Delegation evokes the warmth and texture of distinctly early 20th-century paper — from the soft canvas of the athlete’s shoes to the rough cobblestone they stand on.
Sergey Shimansky (1898-1972)
Storm in Barentsev Sea, c. 1941-1943
Vintage gelatin silver print
Artist's name, title, and stamp on verso
Exhibited in 1947
14 x 19 1/4 inches
Sergey Shimansky (1898-1972)
Diver Goes Under Water, 1930s
Vintage gelatin silver print
Signed and titled in pencil on verso
Photographer’s stamp in ink on verso
14 3/4 x 10 7/8 inches
Yakov Khalip (1908-1980)
Building of the Council of Ministers in Construction, 1934
Vintage gelatin silver print, print c. 1935
Label of the Society for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries on verso
On the label: J. Halip and title: House of "Council of Labour and Defence"
Title in Cyrillic in pencil "Zdanie Soveta Ministrov Stroitsa (Building of the Council of Ministers in Construction)"
Photographer's name in pencil and date 1935 on verso
15 1/2 x 10 7/8 in. (39.4 x 27.6 cm)
Yakov Khalip (1908-1980)
Okhotny Ryad Metro, Moscow, 1936
Gelatin silver print, printed c. 1940s-50s
Photographer's name in Russian on verso
Title and 1935 date in Cyrillic on verso
14 3/4 x 10 3/4 in. (37.5 x 27.3 cm)
In this photograph, Khalip captures the newly constructed Okhotny Ryad Metro Station, which opened in 1935 as part of the first phase of the construction of the Moscow Metro and was, at the time, the largest underground station in the world. The station was located between the monumental Hotel Moskva, which had been constructed that same year with the participation of some of the most accomplished artists in the USSR. As a result, the construction of the station was extremely challenging, and in the end, engineers constructed the walls off-site and then placed them fully built onto the construction site. From his perch above the station — perhaps from a balustrade of the Hotel Moskva — Khalip communicates this sense of closeness and density in the increasingly populated and developing city; the composition of the image excludes the horizon, such that the frame is filled with buildings, from the neoclassical Bolshoi Theater behind the station to the crowded streets in the distance. Also visible in Khalip’s image are two passing trams, which were the dominant mode of transportation before the construction of the Metro.
Due to its size, unusual depth, and central location, Okhotny Ryad was known as the “heart” of the Moscow Metro system. This photograph was reproduced in Varvara Stepanova and Aleksandr Rodchenko’s 1938 book Moskva Rekonstruiruetsia (Moscow Under Reconstruction), which included photographs of the newly constructed Metro stations that were redefining the city.
Naum Granovsky (1910-1984)
Krymsky Bridge, Moscow, c. 1938
Vintage gelatin silver print
Image 7 3/4 x 11 1/2 in. (19.7 x 29.2 cm)
Mount 8 5/8 x 14 1/2 in. (21.9 x 36.8 cm)
Krymsky Bridge, also known as the Crimean Bridge, was constructed in 1938, replacing an existing bridge that was deemed unsafe. The project was part of the reconstruction of Moscow, which included the demolition or reconstruction of every bridge in the city. This is one of the most famous photographs by Granovsky, an ode to modern design and advances in the new art of photography. The striking composition highlights not the span or breadth of the bridge, but its structural novelty; to this day, Krymsky Bridge is the only suspension bridge in Moscow. Granovsky’s lens focuses on the immense steel tower and cable; their huge bolts gleam in the sunlight, and his dramatic perspective makes the entire structure appear so massive that it dwarfs both the few cars and pedestrians below and the buildings on the other side of the Moskva river.
Georgy Petrusov (1903-1971)
Worker and Kolkhoz Woman, Moscow, 1939
Vintage gelatin silver print
Signature of Petrusov’s wife and title in Russian on verso
11 1/2 x 9 1/8 in. (29.2 x 23.2 cm)
Worker and Kolkhoz Woman centers around Vera Mukhina's (1889-1953) eponymous statue of two figures holding a hammer and sickle that the artist created for the 1937 World’s Fair in Paris. Following the World Fair, the 80 ft sculpture was relocated to the VDNKh Park in Moscow.
Masterpieces of Socialist Realist Photography, 1930s, on view online from September 10 to November 16, 2024, presents a rare selection of vintage gelatin-silver prints by pioneers of Soviet photography, including such luminaries as Boris Ignatovich (1899-1976), Arkady Shaikhet (1898-1959), Georgy Petrusov (1903-1971), Sergey Shimansky (1898-1972), Naum Granovsky (1910-1984), Emmanuil Evzerikhin (1911-1984), and Yakov Khalip (1908-1980). These photographers left an indelible mark on the history of their medium, shaping the narrative of their nascent country through striking new visual forms and introducing fresh perspectives and bold compositions.
This exhibition includes not only some of the most iconic photographs of the era, but examples of some of the high-quality printmaking that is unparalleled even today. Meticulous attention to light, tone, and texture has transformed each image into a unique and exquisite object of art.
