Max Zakharovich Penson (; 1893–1959) was a Russian-Jewish

photojournalist Photojournalism is journalism that uses images to tell a news story. It usually only refers to still images, but can also refer to video used in broadcast journalism. Photojournalism is distinguished from other close branches of photography (suc ...

and photographer of 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 ...

noted for his photographs of

Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...

. Max Penson is one of the most prominent representatives of Uzbek and Soviet-era photography, especially

Russian avant-garde The Russian avant-garde was a large, influential wave of avant-garde modern art that flourished in the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union, approximately from 1890 to 1930—although some have placed its beginning as early as 1850 and its e ...

, revered by prominent figures like

Sergei Eisenstein Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein; (11 February 1948) was a Soviet film director, screenwriter, film editor and film theorist. Considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, he was a pioneer in the theory and practice of montage. He is no ...

. Penson's works have been featured in exhibitions across the globe, sponsored by the likes of

Roman Abramovich Roman Arkadyevich Abramovich (born 24 October 1966) is a business oligarch and politician. He is the former owner of Chelsea F.C., Chelsea, a Premier League football club in London, England, and is the primary owner of the private investment com ...

and New York's

MoMA The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...

Biography

Penson was born into a poor bookbinder's

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family in 1893 in the small town of

Velizh Velizh () is a town and the administrative center of Velizhsky District in Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the bank of the Western Dvina, from Smolensk, the administrative center of the oblast. Population: History In the late 14th cen ...

Vitebsk Governorate Vitebsk Governorate (, ) was an administrative-territorial unit ('' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire, with the seat of governorship in Vitebsk. It was established in 1802 by splitting Belarusian Governorate and existed until 1924. Today most ...

(present-day

Smolensk Oblast Smolensk Oblast (), informally also called Smolenshchina (), is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative centre is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Smolensk. As of the 2021 Russ ...

, Russia). He soon moved to Vilno where he enrolled in the art school of S. N. Yuzhanin. In 1914, he was forced as a Jew to move with his family to

Kokand Kokand ( ) is a city in Fergana Region in eastern Uzbekistan, at the southwestern edge of the Fergana Valley. Administratively, Kokand is a district-level city, that includes the urban-type settlement Muqimiy. The population of Kokand was ap ...

Turkestan Turkestan,; ; ; ; also spelled Turkistan, is a historical region in Central Asia corresponding to the regions of Transoxiana and East Turkestan (Xinjiang). The region is located in the northwest of modern day China and to the northwest of its ...

. After the

1917 Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social change in Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of government following two successive revolutions and a civil war. It ...

he founded an art school in Kokand under administration of the Kokand Revolutionary Committee. He became the director and taught draftsmanship to 350 Uzbek children studying at the school. In 1921 his life changed dramatically when he obtained a camera. He would go on to become one of Uzbekistan's and indeed the Soviet Union's prominent professional photographers in the period 1920–1940, capturing its people and economic progression and made over 30,000 photographs by 1940. He moved to the Uzbek capital of

Tashkent Tashkent (), also known as Toshkent, is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uzbekistan, largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of more than 3 million people as of April 1, 2024. I ...

and from 1926 through to 1949 worked for the largest newspaper in Central Asia, the ''

Pravda Vostoka ''Pravda Vostoka'' (, lit. The Truth of the East) is a Russian language newspaper published in Uzbekistan. History and profile The paper was founded in 1917 under the name ''Nasha gazeta'' (, ''Our newspaper''). It was given its current name in ...

'' (Truth of the East). During the 1930s he was particularly prolific in capturing the public engineering works in Uzbekistan and the industrialization of the cotton trade in the country. Penson's images were widely circulated by the Soviet news agency

TASS The Russian News Agency TASS, or simply TASS, is a Russian state-owned news agency founded in 1904. It is the largest Russian news agency and one of the largest news agencies worldwide. TASS is registered as a Federal State Unitary Enterpri ...

and in 1933 his photographs featured in an extensive volume exploring economic progression in the Soviet Union entitled, ''USSR: Under Construction''. In 1940 Penson met

who said of him:

Personal life

In 1948 the increase in

anti-Semitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

under pressure by

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

forced Penson to leave his 25-year-long position with the ''Pravda Vostoka''. Penson had three children. His son, Miron Penson, became a prominent cinematographer during the Soviet Era. His grandson, Maxime Penson, is a prominent commercial photographer, publisher, designer, and entrepreneur in Tashkent. Penson's relatives also include Ron Arad, a prominent Israeli designer, artist, and architect, and Atar Arad, an Israeli violinist, in addition to Boris Penson, a prominent Soviet Refusenik who was featured in the documentary Operation Wedding for his role in the Dymshits–Kuznetsov hijacking affair. Max Penson died in 1959 in Uzbekistan.

Legacy

Though many of Penson's pieces were destroyed during the 1966 Tashkent Earthquake, his family was able to recover an impressive portion of his works. A great number of Penson's works are housed in the Moscow House of Photography. In 2006, Russian billionaire

sponsored an exhibition of Penson's photographs of Uzbekistan in agreement with the Moscow House of Photography on 29 November 2006 at the

Gilbert Collection The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection is a collection of '' objets d'art'' formed by the English-born businessman Sir Arthur Gilbert, who made most of his fortune in the property business in California. After initially becoming interested ...

Somerset House Somerset House is a large neoclassical architecture, neoclassical building complex situated on the south side of the Strand, London, Strand in central London, overlooking the River Thames, just east of Waterloo Bridge. The Georgian era quadran ...

in London. Abramovich had previously funded the exhibition "Quiet Resistance: Russian Pictorial Photography 1900s–1930s" at the same gallery in 2005, also organized by the Moscow House of Photography. Another Gallery that has explored Max Penson's photographic legacy is the Galeyev Gallery, with a personalised exhibition of Penson's work in Moscow (21 September – 31 October 2006). The latest exhibitions of Penson's works were at the

Russian Cultural Centre (London) Pushkin House (), established in 1954, is the UK's oldest independent Russian cultural centre, now based in Bloomsbury, London. It was founded by a group of émigré Russian friends, led by Maria Mikhailovna Kullmann (Zernova), with the aim of ...

(Commonly known as Pushkin House), from 30 November to 2 December 2010 and at Nailya Alexander Gallery in New York City from 5 April to 13 May 2011.''New Yorker'', New York, 9 May 2011

Gallery

An extended gallery of Penson's works may be found on hi
website

References

External links

Nailyaalexandergallery.comEnter World Press
{{DEFAULTSORT:Penson, Max 1893 births 1959 deaths People from Velizh People from Velizhsky Uyezd Jews from the Russian Empire Russian Jews Soviet Jews Russian photographers Soviet photographers Photography in Uzbekistan