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VKhUTEMAS Collection
950052  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Descriptive Summary
  • Biographical/Historical Note
  • Administrative Information
  • Scope and Content of Collection
  • Indexing Terms

  • Descriptive Summary

    Title: VKhUTEMAS collection
    Date (inclusive): 1920-1929
    Number: 950052
    Creator/Collector: VKhUTEMAS (Art school)
    Creator/Collector: Kholodkov, Viktor
    Physical Description: 7 Linear Feet
    Repository:
    The Getty Research Institute
    Special Collections
    1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 1100
    Los Angeles 90049-1688
    reference@getty.edu
    URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10020/askref
    (310) 440-7390
    Abstract: Papers and artwork from VKhUTEMAS (Higher Artistic-Technical Workshops), a state-sponsored school of design established in Moscow. The materials span virtually the entire existence of VKhUTEMAS, from its founding in 1920 until 1929, a year before it closed. The name of the school was changed to VKhuTEIN (Higher State Artistic and Technical Institute) in 1927. Papers comprise student records, evaluations, and photographs, as well as brochures, administrative records, and school newspapers that document VKhUTEMAS's innovative curricula. The bulk of the collection contains drawings, paintings, photographs, experimental books and other work created by students and professors.
    Request Materials: Request access to the physical materials described in this inventory through the catalog record  for this collection. Click here for the access policy .
    Language: Collection material is in Russian

    Biographical/Historical Note

    VKhUTEMAS, a school of design, was established in Moscow in 1920 by state decree. Initially modeled on the experimental Free Workshops (SVOMAS) in Moscow and St. Petersburg, VKhUTEMAS changed its name to Higher State Artistic and Technical Institute, or VKhUTEIN, in 1927-28. Part of the school's mandate was to serve as a specialized educational institution for advanced artistic and technical training, preparing highly qualified master artists for careers in industry or education. A major achievement of VKhUTEMAS was the three-tiered Basic Course. Students first developed studio art techniques, then incorporated them into a specialized industrial/professional education. Augmenting this basic course were chemistry, physics, mathematics, geometry, the theory of shadows, military training, scientific theory of color, a foreign language and the history of art. The archive contains 7 linear feet of material organized in two series. Student diplomas, evaluation reports, identification cards and newspapers comprise Series I., the smaller portion of the archive. Series II., the larger portion of the archive, contains drawings, paintings and prints on paper and canvas, experimental books, photographs, textiles and porcelain, all of which were produced for class assignments. Among these can also be found the work of VKHUTEMAS / VKHUTEIN professors.

    Administrative Information

    Access

    Open for use by qualified researchers.

    Publication Rights

    Preferred Citation

    VKhUTEMAS Collection, 1920-1929, Research Library, The Getty Research Institute, Accession no. 950052.
    http://hdl.handle.net/10020/cifa950052

    Acquisition Information.

    The collection was assembled by Viktor Kholodkov, who left the Soviet Union in 1989. He purchased items directly from the artists or their families. The Getty acquired the collection in 1995.

    Processing History

    Teresa Morales processed and arranged the collection, and created the finding aid, from February to June 1996. The text of S. O. Khan-Magomedov was utilized for the spelling of artists' names ( VHUTEMAS: Moscou, 1920-1930, 2 vols., Paris: Editions du Regard, 1990).

    Scope and Content of Collection

    The VKhUTEMAS collection documents the work of some students and faculty members in attendance at the Higher State Artistic and Technical Workshops in Moscow from 1920 - 1929. Examples in this collection, predominantly works on paper, are from assignments in color theory, portraiture, still life, printmaking, graphic design, textile design and ceramics. Also included are photographs, a number of books, eleven oil paintings, three woodblocks, two pieces of porcelain, five school newspapers and several administrative documents.
    Guiding the organization of the collection is the dealer's inventory, which arranges artwork alphabetically by artist's name and by size of item regardless of medium. It also assigns each item an identification number, showsattribution of work, dates, and provenance. This number displays in brackets for each item. The one divergence from the dealer's inventory is in the spelling of artist's names. For accuracy and consistency in the spelling of names, the text of S. O. Khan-Magomedov ( VHUTEMAS: Moscou, 1920-1930, 2 vols., Paris: Editions du Regard, 1990) has been utilized.
    Viktor Kholodkov, who left the Soviet Union in 1989, purchased this collection directly from the artists or their families.

    Arrangement note

    The collection is organized in two series: Series I. School and student documentation; Series II. Artwork

    Indexing Terms

    Subjects - Corporate Bodies

    VKhUTEMAS (Art school)
    VKhUTEIN (Art School)

    Subjects - Topics

    Art schools
    Art schools -- Russia (Federation) -- Moscow -- History -- 20th century

    Contributors

    VKhUTEMAS (Art school)
    Kholodkov, Viktor