Following the 1917 Revolution, Russian authorities encouraged the development of book design as a means of communicating official Soviet ideology. Many artists—both famous and unknown—were commissioned to create book illustrations. This exhibition focuses on four of them: Alexander Samokhvalov, Nikolay Ushin, Zoya Kruzhkova, and Nikolay Sheberstov, whose works reflect the three stages of the art form’s development: the 1920s, 1950s, and 1980s. The exhibition features book covers, original prints, and draft designs for Soviet-era novels as well as 19^th-century reprints. The gems of the collection are two original lithographs by Alexander Samokhvalov. Most famous for his paintings—considered Russian classics of the 1920s-1930s—he was also an accomplished book illustrator. Other highlights include etchings by Zoya Khruzhkova for the now-forgotten pre-revolutionary Russian novel The Adventure of Blue Banknote, as well as draft designs by Nikolay Ushin and Nikolay Shebertsov with marks and corrections that reveal the book design process. 

View the online exhibit.