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[FIRST POSTHUMOUS EXHIBITION OF GEORGIY NARBUT] Katalog vystavki proizvedeniy. G.I. Narbuta [i.e. Art Exhibition Catalogue of G. I. Narbut]

Item #2749

St. Petersburg: komitet populyarizatsii khudozhestvennykh izdaniy pri Ros. akad. istorii mater. kul’tury, 1922. 88 pp., 11 black-and-white plates, frontispiece: ill. 20,8x16 cm. In original publisher’s printed wrappers. Binding worn with tears and pencil/ink marks, front wrapper and the text block loose, several pages detached, but otherwise good.

Scarce. 1 of 500 copies. First edition. Text in Russian. With a frontispiece (Narbut’s portrait) by Boris Kustodiev; printer’s mark by Mstislav Dobuzhinsky; head and tail pieces by Narbut; and 11 black-and-white reproductions of Narbut’s works, as well as a photograph of the exhibition space.
A rare catalogue of the first posthumous exhibition of works by Georgiy Narbut, organized across five halls of the old Russian wing of the Russian Museum in Leningrad during the summer of 1922. As noted on the acknowledgements page, the exhibition was organized with the assistance of several prominent artists of the period, including Alexander Benois, Mstislav Dobuzhinsky, Anna Ostroumova-Lebedeva, and Sergey Chekhonin.
The edition opens with a brief study of Georgiy Narbut’s artistic development written by Dmitry Mitrokhin and Pyotr Neradovsky (during the Soviet regime, the latter was twice imprisoned on fabricated charges). The main section contains a list of nine portraits of Narbut by Mstislav Dobuzhinsky, Boris Kustodiev, E. Kruglikova, and Sergey Chekhonin, followed by a catalogue of
92 watercolor and graphic works showcased at the exhibition. Most of the entries contain brief description, date, and provenance. The edition also includes a detailed bibliography of 89 books designed or illustrated by Narbut at different times.
The brochure is richly illustrated with a frontispiece portrait of Narbut by Kustodiev, ten full-page black-and-white reproductions of his works, a photograph of the exhibition interior, and a remarkable selection of decorative headpieces and tailpieces designed in Narbut’s characteristic graphic style.
Georgiy Narbut (1886–1920) was a renowned Ukrainian graphic artist, illustrator, and designer. He first experimented with graphic art while studying at the Hlukhiv Gymnasium, where he created illustrations for The Instruction of Vladimir Monomakh. In 1906, Narbut moved to St. Petersburg, where he studied under Ivan Bilibin, whose style initially had a strong influence on his work. He soon developed a distinctive artistic language of his own and became associated with the celebrated Mir Iskusstva (World of Art) movement. By 1912, while illustrating fairy tales and literary works, Narbut had introduced his characteristic silhouette style, marked by decorative precision, refined ornament, and exceptional clarity of line. Following the Revolution, Narbut returned to Ukraine and turned increasingly toward national artistic themes and visual traditions. He became especially celebrated for designing some of the most iconic banknotes, postage stamps, and state symbols of the newly independent Ukrainian Republic.

Price: $850.00