Lot 144: Valentina Nikiforovna Kulagina-Klutsis , Russian 1902-1987 Kuznetsk panno design and photo panel design for the entrance hall of the Siberian Pavilion of VDNKh , 1938-39 silver-gelatin prints, one with notations in ink

silver-gelatin prints, one with notations in ink

measurements one 12 1/2 by 8 3/4 in.; the other 8 1/2 by 4 1/2 in. alternate measurements one 31.5 by 22.2 cm; the other 21.4 by 11. 4 cm

PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE COLLECTION
Valentina Kulagina, the wife and colleague of the famous Constructivist artist Gustav Klutsis, was committed to utilizing the methods of photomontage and photography for agitation and the education of the masses, using them in such areas as books, posters, and exhibition design.

From 1920 to 1929 Kulagina studied at VKhUTEMAS (Higher Art-Technical Studios). She produced her first photomontages in 1925, and in 1928 joined the October Association. From 1938 until the beginning of World War II, Kulagina was employed as a designer for VSKhV (All-Union Agricultural Exhibition), a show considered so important that it became the subject of a special report to the Supreme Soviet by Nikita Khrushchev.