Lot 254: S. Alperin

After the Battle
Signed, titled in Cyrillic in ink and pencil on the reverse of the flush-mount.

59.4 x 45.4 cm (23 3/8 x 17 7/8 in).

Gelatin silver print.

c. 1943

Acquired directly from the artist and then by descent; Private Collection, USA

This group of prints by various Soviet photographers from between the two World Wars was collected over the past twenty years. Vintage prints from this period are rare as most of these photographers worked for state-sponsored press agencies and newspapers and print files were generally purged every few years. In some cases the individual photographers held small groups of their work for personal reasons and it is from these photographers that these prints were collected. Prints were not available outside of the USSR, even though the images were seen by the general public through the international propaganda publication USSR in Construction during the 1930–41 period. After the war there were few opportunities for international exhibitions. Rarely has a group of this size of vintage prints been offered at public auction. (This group also includes Lots 254–264, 273–276.)