L'art decoratif theatral moderne.

presentation copy inscribed by both artists to Boris Anrep

With two additional lithographs - one by Larionov and one by Goncharova (which is initialled by the artist)

Inscribed to Boris Vasileyvich Anrep (1883-1969), a Russian-born artist and poet, best known in Britain for his monumental mosaics at the National Gallery, the Bank of England, Westminster Cathedral and Tate Britain. Anrep had an extraordinary life and was not only a talented artist but a prolific cultural figure of the first half of the twentieth century. His circle included the most famous artists and poets of the era and amongst his many romantic partners was Anna Akhmatova, with whom he had a passionate affair with which spanned several years.

Anrep was born in St Petersburg to an affluent family (his father was a scientist and deputy in the Duma) and attended a school in Kharkiv. He enlisted to study at the prestigious School of Jurisprudence at St Petersburg but around 1908 decided that the life of the poet and artist was preferable. By this stage he had become acquainted with a number of artists in Russia and decided to study at the Académie Julian in Paris. He became friends with Henry Lamb and Augustus John whilst studying in France and they introduced him to the rest of the Bloomsbury Group. It was with these British connections that he was invited to work with Clive Bell on Roger Fry's second Post-Impressionist exhibition in 1912. Anrep oversaw the Russian section and presented pictures by Natalia Goncharova and Mikhail Larionov. The friendship between the three emigre artists clearly continued as this book exemplifies.

The show featured mosaics, paintings, drawings, a book of poetry, and blouses embroidered by Anrep's first wife, Yunia. The eclectic nature of the exhibition aligned with the ethos of the Bloomsbury Group and Roger Fry's Omega Workshops.

Anrep had by this point decided that his interests lay mainly in mosaics (he was originally inspired by the Byzantine mosaics in Ravenna on a trip with Dmitry Stelletsky in 1904) and his first success in London came in 1914 when his work was commissioned for the ceiling of the crypt in Westminster Cathedral. However, his career was put on hold when WWI broke out, and he enlisted as an officer in the Russian army. The start of the war and a return to St Petersburg also marked the beginning of his affair with Akhmatova. Boris was certainly a prolific womaniser but for Anna it was intense and inspired over 30 poems that trace their relationship from her early hopes and dreams to her bitter disappointment at their parting.

He gifted her a wooden alter cross, which she kept until her death, and she gave him a black funeral ring which she'd inherited from her Tatar grandmother and attributed a special power to. The ring disappeared when a bomb hits Anrep's London studio in 1939, the ring disappears. 'Tears of despair filled my eyes... What will I say if A. A. will ask?'. They didn't see each other for decades but reunited in Paris hotel in 1965. Anrep wrote of the encounter, 'I wanted to break through the forest that grew between us. But there was a heavy headstone on top of me. On me and on all the past, and there was no strength to arise'.

The portfolio is complete with beautiful avant-garde pochoirs (stencils) and lithographs, some of the best illustrations by the artists who emigrated in 1915: 'Larionov and Goncharova celebrated their arrival in Paris with a large exhibition of their theatrical work in May 1919 at the Galerie Barbazanges. […] Th[is] impressive folio was published concurrently with the exhibition" (Parton 178). It highlights the artists' interest in both stage and costume design, while also emphasising their desire to combine forms of cubism with the representation of movement.

As founding members of Rayonism, an abstract art movement developed in 1911, Goncharova and Larionov focused on combining technology, speed and modernity to depict the dynamic character of early 20th-century life. They sought an art that went beyond abstraction to break down barriers between the public and the artist. It may have been short-lived, but Rayonism had huge impact at the time, and we view it now as a crucial step in the development of Russian abstract art.

Folio (32.5 x 25 cm). 18 pp. with tipped-in illustrations, [2] pp. table of contents, [1] p. limitation, 6 loose pochoir plates and 8 loose prints, 3 of which are tipped in, all by Goncharova and Larionov, two additional loose lithographs one of which is initialled by Goncharova, central fold marks; in the original wrappers, some staining to wrappers but overall a very good copy.

Not in MoMA.