Petr Pavlovich Ossovsky

A student of Sergei Gerasimov, Petr Ossovsky is considered one of the leading artists of the so-called 'Severe Style' that emerged during the Thaw period. From 1961 onwards he produced a series of Cuban paintings which are particularly well-known. This monumental cityscape painted at the peak of his career conveys the tremendous architectural changes that were transforming the face of Moscow in the early 1960s. 

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.