In original cloth-wrapped and laminated slipcase, measuring 5" x 6 ½". The set contains illustrated essays about twenty-five leading Soviet painters and sculptors. Included are, in no particular order, Pyotr Konchalovsky (Петр Кончаловский), Ivan Shadr (Иван Шадр), Nikolai Tomsky (Николай Томский), Georgy Savitsky (Георгий Савицкий), Boris Ioganson (Борис Иогансон), Arkady Plastov (Аркадий Пластов), Evgeniy Vuchetich (Евгений Вучетич), Zair Azgur (Заир Азгур), Konstantin Yuon (Константин Юон), Alexey Shovkunenko (Алексей Шовкуненко), Sergey Gerasimov (Сергей Герасимов), Matvey Manizer (Матвей Манизер), Alexander Gerasimov (Александр Герасимов), Vasily Baksheyev (Василий Бакшеев), Igor Grabar (Игорь Грабарь), Vitold Byalynitsky-Birulya (Витольд Бялыницкий-Бируля), Sergey Merkurov (Сергей Меркуров), Vasily Yakovlev (Василий Яковлев), Yakov Nikoladze (Яков Николадзе), Pavel Korin (Павел Корин), Martiros Saryan (Мартирос Сарьян), Yuri Neprintsev (Юрий Непринцев), Vasily Meshkov (Василий Мешков), Nikolai Kasatkin (Николай Касаткин), and Sergey Konenkov (Сергей Коненков). Each essay has a short bio of the artist and several b/w prints illustrating his most seminal works. Some of them have become iconic pieces of Soviet Art and socialist realism, for example the monument Rock as the Weapon of Proletariat by I. Shadr, Vuchetich's monument to the Soviet Warrier-Liberator in Treptower Park in Berlin, or Stalin and Voroshilov in the Kremlin by A. Gerasimov.

The essays were published by the Soviet Artist Publishing House over several early post-WW2 years, from 1948 to 1952. Some of them are quite scarce with circulation of only 2,500 copies. The highest circulation among them is 25,000 copies, which is still quite low by Soviet standards.

In excellent condition. The essays show minimal storage wear, the slipcase is also in excellent condition showing just slight wear to the laminate of the cover, and tiny corner bumps.

This is excellent educational, research, and entertaining material for anyone with interest in Stalin Era Soviet Art, and Social Realism in general. Concise, comprehensive, visually supported by illustrations and the artists' facsimile signatures on the front cover of each essay, and all compactly packaged in a pocketbook-sized folder.

The back cover of the slipcase says that this is Part One of the series. However, seeing that the latest of the essays were published in 1952, it is a safe enough assumption that the plans for Part Two changed drastically with Stalin's death on 5 March 1953.

Please note that the pen in our photo is for size reference.