Nisson Abramovich Shifrin

Collection of the poet Benedikt Livshits (1887-1938)

Nisson Shifrin was a Soviet graphic artist best known for his work in the theatre and book illustration. He was later principal stage designer for the Central Theatre of the Soviet Army, a position he held for over 25 years, until his death in 1961. Between the mid-1920s and the early 1930s, Shifrin introduced Constructivist ideas into his theatre designs, emphasising the structural elements of the set, and was also an active member of OST (The Society of Easel Painters) during the 1920s. The red, black and white colour scheme of the present lot recalls the Constructivist palette. Shifrin's unusual viewpoint, behind the curtains of the Kabuki stage, reveals the artifice of the theatre set to the viewer. Both Stanislavsky and Meyerhold had been greatly influenced by Japanese Kabuki theatre and in 1928 the first Kabuki productions ever to be held outside of Japan were performed in Moscow and Leningrad. It is likely that Shifrin attended one of these performances.

The Soviet art critic and dealer Victor Kholodkov (1948-2015) was particularly drawn to the graphic works and typographical experiments of the Russian avant-garde. He published a number of articles on the subject and contributed to exhibitions after his emigration from the Soviet Union in 1989, including the 1992 Guggenheim exhibition The Great Utopia: The Russian and Soviet Avant-Garde. His extensive collection of papers and artwork relating to VKhUTEMAS was acquired by the Getty Museum in 1995 and his collection of Soviet music sheet covers is now in The Library of Congress.

The present selection of graphic works, oils and original film posters (lots 107-138) from the first half of the 20^th century is characteristic of Kholodkov’s interests in the convergence of artistic, cultural and political concerns of the period. He is known to have purchased much of his collection directly from the artists or their families; others were acquired directly from Nikolai Khardzhiev, another well-known collector of the Russian avant-garde.