Art

Uncommon example of provincial post-war propaganda, a striking image of Stalin taking a march past of Uzbek people, the profile of Lenin behind him, superimposed with text in Uzbek. The artist Kaydalov (1907-1985) was born in Barnaul in the Altai, and initially studied there under Andrei Osipovich Nikulin, a noted painter of the region who later gained fame as a designer at Mosfilm. From 1927-30 Kaydalov was associated with the Leningrad AKhRR (Association of Revolutionary Artists of Russia) working under Efim Cheptzov, Mikhail Avilov, and Ivan Drozdov, being initially employed as a graphic designer in book illustration and as a poster artist, specialising in military and political subjects. In 1932 he moved to Tashkent and subsequently devoted his career to the celebration of his adopted homeland, perhaps his most famous work being the portfolio Socialist Uzbekistan (1939-40), which records his impressions of the harmonious coexistence of old and new in the Central Asian state. Equally noteworthy, perhaps, were his contributions to the commemoration of the 500th anniversary of the great Uzbek poet Alisher Navoi, comprising a series of illustrations of his major works, together with a sequence of portraits of the writer. Kaydalov's place in the artistic culture of Uzbekistan was recognised when he was made People's Artist of the Uzbek SSR. Original offset lithograph poster (845 x 570 mm). Lightly browned, minor creasing, and a few minor edge-splits and chips, but overall very good. Presented in a hand-finished charcoal frame.