IGOR IVANOVICH YERSHOV (RUSSIAN 1916-1985)
The Mine, 1931
India ink on paper
35 x 49 cm (13 3/4 x 19 1/4 in.)
signed twice and dated lower right; titled and inscribed on verso

PROVENANCE
Collection of Viktor Kholodkov

LOT NOTES
Igor Yershov was a Russian painter and graphic designer. He was born into an artistic family; his father Ivan Yershov was an opera singer with the Imperial Marinskiy Theatre and his mother was both a singer and a professor at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. In 1932, Yershov began his studies at the academy of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. Amongst his professors were I. Brodsky and I. Bilibin. His studies were interrupted by the Second World War when he was evacuated to Tashkent. Yershov graduated from the Academy in 1947, presenting lithographs for A. Pushkin`s Bronze Horseman. In 1949, a jubilee edition of Pushkin`s works was published with illustrations by the artist. From the 1950s onwards, he worked mainly as an illustrator of children`s books. At least two generations of Russian children grew up reading Khorovod with Yershov`s illustrations. His illustrations for the Russian folk tales by Charles Perrault and Aleksandr Pushkin were very popular: The tale of the Golden Cockerel (1957-1960), A tale of the Fisherman and his wife (1956-57), Russian fairy-tales (1957-1960). Yershov`s works can be found in the collections of a number of Russian museums including the State Russian Museum and Museum of A.S. Pushkin and in museums and private collections in both France and England.

This painting is 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.