Fine Art Shippers is pleased to share the news that our friend and American art dealer Kenneth Pushkin has recently released an e-book documenting his unique collection of Postwar Russian art. Featuring works by three severely understudied yet prolific and undeniably innovative artists – Boris Chetkov, Nikolai Timkov, and Vasily Golubev – the publication offers a unique chance to see a rare side of Russian and Soviet art history.
The Pushkin Collection: The Avant Garde of Postwar Russian Art
The e-book titled The Avant Garde of Postwar Russian Art represents a collection of artworks by three unofficial Soviet-era artists: Boris Chetkov, Nikolai Timkov, and Vasily Golubev. It was assembled in the 1990s – early 2000s by Kenneth Pushkin, an art dealer, collector, and distant relative of the famous Russian poet Alexander Pushkin, who has always had a unique relationship with Russian culture and art.
One can feel the passion and care that Kenneth Pushkin put into bringing this project to light through the mindfully assembled and annotated collection of Russian art. While the e-book undeniably fills a gap in the art history of Soviet-era Russia, it also tells another, more personal but no less significant story. Kenneth’s close relationship with Admiral Pushkin, one of the leaders of the Pushkin family in Russia, whom he met right after visiting Russia for the very first time in 1992, motivated him to start the non-profit Pushkin Fund. It also put the collector in close proximity to some of the biggest figures in the world of Russian art.
After meeting numerous gallerists, museum directors, collectors, and artists, Kenneth Pushkin stumbled upon artists whose art he found to be one-of-a-kind – Boris Chetkov, Nikolai Timkov, and Vasily Golubev. These three artists were ostracized by their contemporaries, as their work existed outside of all stylistic and aesthetical movements that were popular at the time, expressing a strong sense of individuality, which was frowned upon under Stalin’s regime. Their art became the core of the Pushkin Collection, which currently consists of around a thousand pieces.
The colorful, high-quality reproductions of paintings are accompanied by insightful annotations that not only provide context for the readers but also allow them to fully appreciate the mastery of featured artists. The e-book also features biographical and historical notes authored by leading scholars in the field of art history.
The newly out Pushkin Collection e-book can be accessed online for free. Fine Art Shippers is thankful for the opportunity to present such an important project and is eager to follow its development in the future.
Featured image: Green Meadow and Flowers, Boris Chetkov, 1969, Oil on Panel, 12″ x 12″ (30cm x 30cm)
Photo courtesy of Kenneth Pushkin