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FROM ANTIQUITY TO THE 20TH CENTURY
Lot 255:
This poster was purchased in Moscow at a Berezka, hard currency store in 1968. The message, approved by the Party Propaganda Organs, was meant to be direct without any subtlety. The 19×21 poster dating to the late 50’s is a collage on photographic paper with 5 photos illustrating: 1. a trapeze artist, 2. a sculptor with her art, 3. folk dancers in national costumes, 4. a female conductor in performance and 5. the focus of the viewers’ attention a stunning ballerina en pointe. The ballerina is none other than the world-renowned, prima ballerina of the Bolshoi Ballet, Maya Plisetskaya. In 1959, during the period of Cultural Thaw, she began touring extensively outside the USSR with the Bolshoi Ballet. Her fame as a national ballerina was used to project the Soviet Union’s achievements during the Cold War. Premier, Nikita Khrushchev, considered her to be not only the best ballerina in the Soviet Union but in the entire world! In his not-so-humble assessment, she and the cosmonaut Yurii Gagarin were the best advertisements to attract tourists to the drab USSR. Since the message on this poster is in English, it was intended to be distributed in English-speaking countries through counselor offices, Amtorg and Intourist Travel Agencies. Without additional words, the message is visually unmistakable come to the USSR and enjoy Maya Plisteskaya, a Russian Circus, Folk Dancers, Soviet Artists and Sculptors and hear a Russian Symphony. Furthermore, the fact that all 5 photos depict women as primary subjects underscores the prominent role of women in Soviet society.
21 7/8 x 18 5/8 in., (55.6 x 47.3 cm.)
Condition: Very good overall with some minor wear at edges and some parts of surface.
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