Karlis Buss Sold at Auction Prices

KARLIS BUSS, Salaspils, 1943 linocut

KARLIS BUSS, also known as BUSH KARL MIKHAILOVICH (LATVIAN 1912-?), Salaspils death camp in 1943, 1943, linocut, full sheet measuring 45 x 70.2 cm (17 3/4 x 27 5/8 in.), image size 34.6 x 60 cm (13 5/8 x 23 5/8 in.), signed in plate lower left as well as in pencil lower right. LOT NOTES Karl Bush was a Latvian graphic artist and pedagogue. Born in 1912 in Riga, where he was primarily active, he studied at the RVNSh (1928-1934). Bush began exhibiting in 1931 and became a member of the "Green Crow" ("Zala varna") collective the same year, and the Group of Active Artists two years later. Bush was also a professor at the Riga College of Applied Arts (1944-1948) and the Riga Intermediate Art School (1948-1961). The Salaspils Nazi concentration camp, also known by the German name of Kurtenhof, was built in the fall of 1941 some 11 miles outside of Riga. PROVENANCE INFORMATION This lot comes from the collection of Viktor Kholodkov (1948-2015), who fulfilled his passion for books, avant-garde design and paper memorabilia by devoting his life to collecting and dealing of prominent works of Russian graphic art of the first half of the 20th century. The dedicated collector acquired a multitude of books and artworks throughout decades, meticulously labeling and archiving every single item. Many came directly from the most preeminent artists of the time, as well as from their families and estates. He also possessed a vast number of drawings from the famous collection of another avant-garde enthusiast, Nikolai Khardzhiev. After leaving the USSR in 1989 and settling in California, Viktor continued his work as a Soviet art dealer and critic, actively publishing various articles and contributing to several major Russian avant-garde exhibitions across the U.S., such as the 1991 Russia Under Fire in the 40s on the West Coast and the 1992 Guggenheim exhibition The Great Utopia: The Russian and Soviet Avant-Garde. Kholodkov also contributed to the archives of the biggest American institutions. His sophisticated selection of over 2000 Russian sheet music covers was acquired by The Library of Congress, and an extensive amount of material related to VKhUTEMAS is now at the J. Paul Getty Museum.