Alexander Rodchenko - BRIC Theme Sale London Friday, April 23, 2010 | Phillips

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  • Provenance

    Rodchenko/Stepanova Archives, Moscow; Howard Schickler Fine Art, New York; Private Collection, USA

  • Literature

    A. Lavrentiev, Alexander Rodchenko: Photography, 1924–1954, New Jersey: Knickerbocker Press, 1996, p. 137; G. Shudakov et al., Pioneers of Soviet Photography, London: Thames and Hudson, 1983, p. 217; Revolution in Photography, Moscow: Moscow House of Photography, 2008, p. 42

  • Catalogue Essay

    Vladimir Vladimirovich Mayakovsky (1893-1930) was one of the leading poets and activists of his time, and also one of Rodchenko's first and most familiar subjects to go before his camera. The original purpose of this photograph was to be one of a series of posed images for use in Rodchenko and Mayakovsky's future collaborations. One story records that 'Mayakovsky arrived in the late afternoon, when there was little light, which is why the shot was taken outdoors. Kotik the dog, who loved ice-cream, had eaten everything that Mayakovsky had bought, which is why the poet is holding him in his arms like a baby. Mayakovsky easily identified with dogs. His nickname was "Shchen" ("little dog"), which is how he signed letters and telegrams' (from Memoirs of Lili Brik, in G. Shudakov et al., Pioneers of Soviet Photography, London: Thames and Hudson, 1983, p. 217).

233

Mayakovsky with Scottie

1924
Gelatin silver print.
43.8 x 32.1 cm (17 1/4 x 12 5/8 in).
Two credit stamps and credit, title, date in an unidentified hand in pencil on the verso.

Estimate
£18,000 - 22,000 Ω

Sold for £15,000

BRIC Theme Sale

23-24 April 2010
London