The Unsung Hero of the Russian Avant-Garde: The Life and Times of Nikolay Punin : The Life and Times of Nikolay Punin

This book is the first biography of Nikolay Punin (1888-1953). One of the most prominent art-critics of the avant-garde, in 1919 Punin was the Commissar of the Hermitage and Russian Museums, he was lecturing at the Academy of Arts and at the State University in Petrograd (and subsequently Leningrad). He was the right hand of Lunacharsky and the head of the Petrograd branch of the Visual Arts Department of Narkompross. From 1913 till 1938, Punin worked at the Russian Museum and organized several major exhibitions of Russian art. Yet his name is not widely known in the West, primarily because his file languished in the KGB archives since he died in 1953, partly because his grave in the Gulag where he died is marked only by a number, and partly because his own reputation became submerged under that of his lover, poet and writer Anna Akhmatova. Through the life and inheritance of Nikolay Punin, this book will examine the very phenomenon of the Russian avant-garde and its fate after the October Revolution, as well as the artistic trends and cultural policies which dominated Soviet art in the 1930-1950s. For an interview with the author on The Voice of Russia (July 19th, 2012): click here. Contents List of Illustrations Acknowledgements Abbreviations Notes on Dates and Transliteration Introduction Chapter One Origins of the Hero 1. Punin’s Background and Origins 2. The Time in Tsarskoe Selo Chapter Two Education 1. Studies and Teachers 2. Influences and Interests Chapter Three Winds of Change: The First World War and Emergence of the New Creativity in Russia 1. The Breeding-Ground—The Last Years of Imperial Russia. Foreign Influences in Russian Art (French Artists’ Exhibitions) 2. Growth of Interest in Russian Art. Foundation of the Russian Museum 3. The First World War and Promise of the Revolution 4. Ideas, Ideas, Ideas. The New Faces. Punin, and His Role Among Them 5. Private Life. Marriage and Infidelity Chapter Four The Dawn of New Hopes: The October Revolution and the Search for New Art 1. The October Revolution 2. The Proletarian Art Enigma 3. The Fight Against Old Art 4. The Saga of the Statues 5. Art and the State Chapter Five No Future for the Futurists? Attempts to Educate the Masses 1. Punin and the State Hermitage Museum 2. Art of the Commune 3. Closure of Art of the Commune and the State’s First Limitations of Artistic Freedom Chapter Six Gathering Clouds, But High Heart 1. Punin’s First Arrest and First Disillusionments 2. Anna Akhmatova 3. Ginkhuk and Tatlin. Punin’s Lectures and Courses Chapter Seven The Slow Strangulation of Free Culture 1. The New Rules Emerging 2. Keeping the Flame High. Russian Museum Exhibitions 3. Events on the Home Front. Life in the Fountain House Chapter Eight The Victory of Socialist Realism 1. Punin’s Last Articles and Exhibitions. From Avant-Garde to Socialist Realism Chapter Nine Time of Terror 1. Hard Times. Attack on Principles and Individuals 2. The Second Arrest of Nikolay Punin 3. Life and Work After the Arrest. Separation from Akhmatova. The Arrival of Martha Golubeva Chapter Ten The Great Patriotic War 1. Beginning of the Great Patriotic War. Leningrad under Siege 2. Evacuation to Samarkand 3. Return to the North Chapter Eleven The Broken Post-War Dreams 1. The Post-War Cultural Scene 2. Punin’s Dismissal and Criticism Chapter Twelve Bitter End 1. The Final Arrest and Interrogations 2. Life and Death in the Gulag Bibliography of Published Writings of N. Punin Bibliography Index This book is the first biography of Nikolay Punin (1888-1953). One of the most prominent art-critics of the avant-garde, in 1919 Punin was the Commissar of the Hermitage and Russian Museums, he was lecturing at the Academy of Arts and at the State University in Petrograd (and subsequently Leningrad). He was the right hand of Lunacharsky and the head of the Petrograd branch of the Visual Arts Department of Narkompross. From 1913 till 1938, Punin worked at the Russian Museum and organized several major exhibitions of Russian art. Yet his name is not widely known in the West, primarily because his file languished in the KGB archives since he died in 1953, partly because his grave in the Gulag where he died is marked only by a number, and partly because his own reputation became submerged under that of his lover, the poetess Anna Akhmatova. Through the life and inheritance of Nikolay Punin, this book will examine the very phenomenon of the Russian avant-garde and its fate after the October Revolution, as well as the artistic trends and cultural policies which dominated Soviet art in the 1930-1950s The first biography of Nikolay Punin, this book offers a comprehensive analysis of his life in the context of Russian political, social and cultural history in the first half of the 20th century. The First Biography Of Nikolay Punin, This Book Offers A Comprehensive Analisys Of His Life In The Context Of Russian Political, Social And Cultural History In The First Half Of The Xx Century.