The Association of Artists of Revolutionary Russia (, ''Assotsiatsia khudozhnikov revolutsionnoi Rossii'', 1922–1928), later known as Association of Artists of the Revolution (Ассоциация художников революции, ''Assotsiatsia khudozhnikov revolutsii'' or AKhRR, 1928–1932) was a group of artists in the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

in 1922–1933. Diverse members of the group gained favor as the legitimate bearers of the Communist ideas into the world of art, formulating framework for the socialist realism style. It was a large association of Soviet artists, graphic artists and sculptors, which, thanks to the support of the state, was the largest and most powerful of the creative groups of the 1920s. Founded in 1922, AKhRR was active for about 10 years before it disbanded in 1932. During this time it was the forerunner of the united

Artists' Union of the USSR The Artists' Union of the USSR () was a creative union of the Soviet artists and art critics embracing the Republics of the Soviet Union. The Union was founded started in 1932 to supersede the AKhRR. The integral Union was instituted in 1957. B ...

. Original founding members included Alexander Grigoriev, Pavel Radimov (the last chairman of

Peredvizhniki Peredvizhniki (, ), often called The Wanderers or The Itinerants in English, were a group of Russian realism (arts), realist artists who formed an artists' cooperative in protest of academic restrictions; it evolved into the ''Society for Trave ...

movement),

Sergey Malyutin Sergey Vasilyevich Malyutin (; 4 October 1859 – 6 December 1937) was a Russian painter of fine crafts, (scenic) designer, illustrator and architect; initially associated with the Arts and Crafts Movement.

, Yevgeny Katzman, Pyotr Shukhmin and other realist painters, who already established themselves in artistic world before the

Russian Revolution of 1917 The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...

. The group formed within the

movement, that held their last, 47th, public exhibition in 1922 and clearly placed itself in opposition to

avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...

art. They claimed that their art style was meant to capture "revolutionary impulse of this great moment of history" without "insult ngthe revolution in the eyes of the international proletariat." Their first public statement as a new entity was a 1922 exhibition in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

; all proceeds were used for the relief of

Russian famine of 1921 Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

. By 1928, the group sponsored 10 nationwide exhibitions with high publicity. Despite its revolutionary title, it successfully united artists of the "old school" like

Abram Arkhipov Abram Efimovich Arkhipov (; – 25 September 1930) was a Russian realist artist, who was a member of the art collective The Wanderers as well as the Union of Russian Artists. Biography Born in the village of Yegorovo in the Ryazan Obla ...

, Aleksandr Makovsky, Nikolay Kasatkin,

Konstantin Yuon Konstantin Fyodorovich Yuon or Juon (; – April 11, 1958) was a noted Russian painter and theatre designer associated with the Mir Iskusstva. Later, he co-founded the Union of Russian Artists and the Association of Artists of Revolutionary Ru ...

and the younger ones like Sergei Gerasimov and

Isaak Brodsky Isaak Izrailevich Brodsky (, ; – 14 August 1939) was a Russian painter and draughtsman of Jewish descent best known for his portrayals of Vladimir Lenin and other Soviet leaders, renowned as blueprint examples of the Socialist reali ...

. In a decade, it grew up from 80 to over 300 members. Broad membership and dominance of mature artists born in the 1870s and 1880s helped in establishing AKhRR as a reliable institution, far from ultra-revolutionary rhetorics. During the crackdown on independent art movements in 1932–1933, AKhRR served as the nucleus for the USSR Union of Artists and was liquidated after its formation. Their artwork had influenced capitalist art in England, originally brought by British communists during and after the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

and eventually, after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the fascination with Soviet aesthetics. The work had shifted advertising to portray the working class and the newly emerging middle class in their normal daily activities. With the Cold War, British critics began to be repulsed with the art as a socially inclusive medium, but its core aesthetic remained and spread globally.

References

{{Authority control Russian avant-garde Socialist realism Arts organizations established in 1922 Organizations disestablished in 1932 Arts organizations disestablished in the 20th century

See also

References