Diaries, letters & journals
2020
This story behind this biographical memoir of a great artist begins before Narbut’s death. The best-known experts were invited to participate and contribute articles, which they spent many years preparing. But the Soviet censors “trimmed” the texts to their liking. When it was finally published in 1933, nearly all the authors had been repressed or executed. The anthology went under the knife at the printing press. It was a shame, too, because the paper was beautiful, specially allotted by the state printing press, as was the print. Only two incomplete copies remain, both in private collections. Serhii Bilokin first proposed the idea of the Narbut Anthology to Rodovid Press ten years ago, and now it is finally came to fruition with the support of the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation. This is thanks to Bohdan Zavitii, Anastasia Bilousova, and entire project team including designers Sasha Bychenko, Oleksii Salnykov, and Alina Bielova. The Institute of Art History, Folklore, and Ethnology, the National Art Museum of Ukraine, the Kharkiv Art Museum, and others assisted with the illustrations and texts. Heorhii Narbut was a decisive figure in twentieth-century Ukrainian art, yet the Communist taboos of the Soviet period ensured he remained unknown to a broader audience. This unique project fleshes out a significant aspect of art history and puts certain things back where they belong. Content and introduction: Serhii Bilokin Editors: Anastasiia Bilousova and Bohdan Zavitii Design: Sasha Bychenko and Numo Team
![Narbut. Studies. Memoirs. Letters [A Supplemented Reproduction of the "Narbut Anthology", destroyed in 1933]](https://cdn-production.frankfurtrights.com/Content/Upload/BookJackets/Thumbnails/19049830ff3.jpg "Narbut. Studies. Memoirs. Letters [A Supplemented Reproduction of the \"Narbut Anthology\", destroyed in 1933]")
