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[ARTIST & NKVD AGENT] Hlushchenko = Gloutchenko / S. Hordynsky, P. Kovzhun

Item #1710

Lviv: Drukarnia Nauk. T-va im. Shevchenko, 1934. 24, 32 pp.: ill., 1 portrait. 24x19,5 cm. In original printed wrappers. Spine and covers restored, slightly soiled, otherwise very good copy.

Limited edition. Copy #54 of 350. Title pages in Ukrainian and French.
The first issue of a series “Contemporary Ukrainian artists” released by members of the Association of Independent Ukrainian Artists (ANUM). The edition includes two short texts by Hordynsky in Ukrainian and French, one larger text by Kovzhun and numerous reproductions of Hlushchenko’s artworks.
Mykola Hlushchenko (1901-1977) was born in the Yekaterinoslav province of the Russian Empire and left East Ukraine during the Russian Civil War. He suffered a Polish wartime camp, lived and studied art in Germany. In particular, he was significantly influenced by Fernand Léger. Being a Ukrainian emigrant, Hlushchenko was financed by various Ukrainian organizations that moved to Europe. In 1923, he acquired the citizenship of the USSR and embarked on designing trade and industrial exhibitions of the USSR abroad. He also wrote essays on West European art for the Kharkiv publishing house ‘Mystetstvo’. In 1926, he was recruited by the NKVD and was named “Yarema”. Living in Paris among many Ukrainian cultural figures, Mykola Hlushchenko had a Soviet passport and a special mission. He told people about prosperous life of Soviet people, about the rise of Ukrainian national culture in the USSR. The Soviet authorities paid him a great deal of money for promotion of Soviet culture and ideology, as well as performing complicated tasks for obtaining secret scientific and technical information. Hlushchenko also contributed to hushing up the mass arrests of Soviet Ukrainians from the late 1920s. During the Holodomor period, the artist created portraits of “Friends of the USSR”. For ten years, Hlushchenko managed to engage several influential figures of foreign anti-Soviet organizations in intelligence work. A spouse of Hlushchenko served in the Soviet embassy. They both moved to the USSR in 1936.

In Paris, he got a reputation as a skilled artist and an open-minded man eager to help poor artists. In contrast to them, Hlushchenko lived wealthy and established an atelier in Paris, which was visited by various emigre figures. To emigrants, he distantly introduced Soviet artists, writers, publishers in Kharkiv, giving their addresses. His pro-Soviet propaganda influenced them and friend Sviatoslav Hordynsky as well. Most likely, Hlushchenko recommended young Hordynsky to publish his debut article ‘Ukrainian
Artists in Paris’ in pro-Soviet magazine ‘Novi shliakhy’ [New Way; Pt. 7 for 1929). Hordynsky was even preparing for migration to the USSR. According to his memoirs, Hordynsky changed his mind after he received a short note “Sviatoslav, don’t go anywhere” from Soviet Ukrainian artist Anatol Petrytsky. Hordynsky set aside the visit
(or migration) to the USSR, yet had no idea about the secret life of Hlushchenko until 1990. He also continued his collaboration with pro-Soviet editions for a long time. (Horyn B. Sviatoslav Hordynsky in the Context of His Times)

This edition preserves the authority of Hlushchenko the artist and displays his works in various techniques. Horyn stated that the high quality print was financed by Hlushchenko himself. Hordynsky visited him specially to receive all these valuable artworks. Captions are also printed in Ukrainian and French.

Copies are located in Princeton and Illinois Universities, Frick Art Reference Library.

Price: $2,500.00