Lot 51: GRACHEV, MIKHAIL (1916-2009) Ferris Wheel, Construction of Skyscrapers and Karl Marx Prospekt, Moscow

GRACHEV, MIKHAIL (1916-2009)
Ferris Wheel, Construction of Skyscrapers and Karl Marx Prospekt, Moscow, three works, each stamped with the photographer's stamp and one signed, titled in Cyrillic and dated “50 e” on the reverse.
Each gelatin silver print, the largest measuring 28.5 by 37 cm and the smallest 34.5 by 26 cm.
Photographed and printed c. late 1940s–1950s.

Provenance: Private collection, Europe.

A prominent Soviet photographer, Mikhail Grachev (1916–2009) started his career working for the daily Izvestia in 1936. He took pictures of the major Soviet construction sites, including the construction of the Great Fergana Canal. During World War II, he led the photo department of Izvestia and worked as a photo correspondent for Vechernyaya Moskva. He was deployed to the Kalinin and Western Fronts, and worked in Leningrad during the siege. During the Battle of Moscow in 1941–1942, he photographed the offensives for Volokolamsk and Tula. From 1949, he worked for the magazine Sovetsky Soyuz.