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Soviet Children’s Book Art at London’s House of Illustration

By John Freeman on May 8, 2016

Art by Lidia Popova

London’s House of Illustration, currently hosting the marvellous Comix Creatrix exhibition, will host an exhibition of Soviet children’s picture book illustration from Russa from the end of May.

Art by Eduard Kimmer

With their perfect synthesis of typography, design and illustration, Soviet children’s books in the 1920s and 1930s revolutionised the picture book form against a turbulent political backdrop. Subjects ranged from folk tales and contemporary children’s verse to books on the modern world and Soviet education, brought to life with bold colours, dynamic shapes and playful layouts.

Art by Vladimir Tambi

The exhibition at the House of Illustration will explore this period of unprecedented innovation, from the pre-revolutionary ‘Silver Age’ of Russian illustration to the pioneers of Soviet children’s publishing.

A selection of rare books and original works from the unparalleled collection of Sasha Lurye will provide a window on this fertile and fascinating moment in 20th century illustration.

Discover rarely-seen work by some of the most influential figures of the age, including Vladimir Tambi, sisters Olga and Galena Chicagova, and Vladimir Lebedev, whose avant garde illustrations for prominent poet and translator Samuil Marshak such as Circus and Luggage have become iconic.

• A New Childhood: Picture Books from Soviet Russia opens on 27th May and will run until 11th September 2016 | More details here on the House of Illustration web site

About the Author
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John Freeman

John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.

He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.