Lot 47: SHOKIN, LEONID (1896-1962) Winter Sunset and Winter Twilight

SHOKIN, LEONID (1896-1962)
Winter Sunset and Winter Twilight, two works, one signed, inscribed in Cyrillic “g. Kimry/ul Volodarsk 4 a” and titled on the reverse, also further signed twice, variously inscribed, titled twice, once in Cyrillic, and numbered “N 2” on the mounting card on the reverse; and the other sign
Each gelatin silver print, measuring 18.5 by 23.5 cm and 21 by 27.5 cm respectively.
Winter Sunset photographed and printed c. late 1930s and Winter Twilight in 1939.

Provenance: Collection of the photographer.
Thence by descent.
Acquired directly from the above by the previous owner.
Acquired from the above by the present owner.
Private collection, Europe.

Leonid Shokin (1896–1962) was born and spent all his life in the small town of Kimry in Tver region, where he, together with his brother, set up a branch of the Russian Photographic Society. Before and after the October Revolution he participated in many exhibitions in Russia and in the West.

In the late 1920s, Shokin, already an acclaimed photo artist, decided to take up work as a photo correspondent for rural newspapers, a move that allowed him to continue working and to keep his family home and studio, and avoid a risk of being purged for the “decadency” of his previous style. Carrying out official commissions, he photographed local party leaders and workers. After World War II, he continued working as a local photo journalist. In spite of that he managed to preserve throughout these years his gift for subtle psychologism and his fondness for lyricism, be that in portraiture or landscapes.