SOLOMON SAMSONOVICH BOIM (RUSSIAN 1899-1978)
Kotelnicheskaya Embankment Building, c. 1950
watercolor and pencil on paper
31.2 x 44 cm (12 1/4 x 17 5/16 in.)
initialed lower right, signed on verso

PROVENANCE
Collection of Viktor Kholodkov

LOT NOTES
Boim Solomon Samsonovich was a well-known Soviet artist of Jewish origin, is known mostly for his works in graphic techniques: watercolor, gouache, drawing, engraving, book illustrations and posters ("Agitplakat"). He lived in Ukraine, Leningrad, and Moscow. Studied in VKhUTEMAS from Kupreyanov. From 1926 on Boim participated in hundreds of exhibitions at home and abroad. He exhibited with such prominent artists as N. Altman, S. Chekhonin, G. Klutsis, V. Lebedev, El Lissitzky, K. Malevich, L. Popova, A. Rodchenko, V. Tatlin, P. Filonov, Stenberg Brothers, and V. Stepanova. His favorite subjects included architecture and cityscapes (mostly Leningrad/St. Petersburg and Moscow), nautical themes and the Navy, and Great Patriotic War. Boim's paintings were influenced by Socialist Realism and Russian Impressionism. Boim's works are widely recognized. They may be seen in the former Soviet Union in the Tretyakov Gallery, the Russian Museum, the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, and other major museums.

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.