Nikolaj Michajlovic Avvakumov Sold at Auction Prices

AVVAKUMOV, N. 1918-1945, 1945

1918-1945, a poster by Nikolai Avvakumov (1908-1945). Published by Iskusstvo, Moscow-Leningrad, 1945. 87 x 59.5 cm.According to the extensive article on Avvakumov on the Russian Wikipedia site, this poster celebrating the Red Army’s 27th anniversary earned the artist first place in a poster competition. Upon graduation from the Perm’ Art School, Nikolai Avvakumov became a propaganda artist at Magnitostroi, one of the major Soviet industrialization projects. He was also elected secretary of the local Komsomol chapter; this combination of activities eventually earned him a staff artist position at the main Komsomol newspaper, Komsomol’skaya Pravda, and a transfer to Moscow. A talented draftsman, Avvakumov soon became a successful supplier of portraits of Soviet leaders and historic personalities to a range of Moscow publishers.Most of Avvakumov’s posters date to two relatively short periods, one in the beginning of the war, before he volunteered for Army duty, and another from 1944 onwards, after he had transferred from the front newspaper to the Military Artists Studio. By that time, Avvakumov’s health was declining, and he died at the young age of 37.