Selections from the Reznikoff Family Archive on View in Moscow
Alexei Remizov, Ivashka, Paris, 1941, India ink and color pencil on paper
It is official: the Russian Ministry of Culture finally purchased the Reznikoff family archive in its entirety, including nine illustrated albums created by Alexei Remizov between the mid 1930s and early 50s. Some of these illustrated albums from the Reznikoff collection are at the base of my monograph Beyond Symbolism and Surrealism: Alexei Remizov’s Synthetic Art published by Northwestern UP in 2011.
Before its purchase, the Reznikoff archive was the largest repository of Remizov materials abroad. Its transfer to the Russian Ministry of Culture completes the existing collection already in the Pushkin House (The Institute of Russian Literature) in St. Petersburg. Remizov donated this portion of his archive to the Pushkin House shortly before his death in Paris in 1957. The remaining part was left in the care of the Reznikoff family, who not only helped the writer and his wife to survive the physical hardships of exile, but at the price of personal sacrifices, enabled a series of post-war printings of Remizov’s books containing his own covers and illustrations.
Now, the Moscow Manezh is hosting an exhibit “Alexei Rimizov. The Return” that showcases a selection of works from the the recent Reznikoff purchase. The exhibition is organized by Irina Alpatova, and will be open through May 22, 2013.
