Nikolai Sedelnikov (Russian, 1905-1994)

Sedelnikov began working in the printing industry at the age of sixteen. From 1924 to 1926, and again in 1930, he studied in the Graphics and Printing Department of VKhUTEMAS (Higher State Artistic and Technical Workshops; renamed VKhUTEIN in 1927), where students were trained to create work that was useful to the progress of post-revolutionary Soviet society. Sedelnikov received training in engraving, lithography, book design and production, typography, and photography. He believed that photography was the most powerful medium for the communication of socialist ideals, particularly in the form of photomontage. In 1928, he became a founding member of the Oktiabr’ (October) group, a union of artists, photographer, filmmakers, and architects, active between 1928 and 1932, who were dedicated to socially conscious work that would serve the concrete needs of the proletariat.

Throughout his career, Sedelnikov worked within state institutions, including as an art director at Gosizdat, the State Publishing House (1927–1930); Partizdat Tsk VKP(b), the Publishing House of the Central Committee of the Communist Party (1932–1941); Gospolitizdat, the State Publishing House of Political Literature (1943–1952); and the Academy of Science Publishing House (1958–1963). His covers, designs, and illustrations for publications celebrated the achievements of the Soviet Union. Sedelnikov’s work was recognized both within the Soviet Union and internationally in his lifetime.

The Sedelnikov holdings are the most extensive of any single artist in the Merrill C. Berman Collection. Numbering over two hundred items, they include original maquettes, preparatory designs, printers’ proofs, and final publications—a selection of which is presented here. For Alla Rosenfeld’s in-depth book, Nikolai Sedelnikov: Works from the Merrill C. Berman Collection (2020), please contact the collection at mcbcollect@mindspring.com.

Chelovek sozdan dlia schast’ia (A Man is Created for Happiness), 1927
Cut-and-pasted printed paper, gouache, and ink on paper
13 1/16 x 9 1/2" (33 x 34.2 cm)

Pobeda chempiona (Victory of a Champion), c. 1929
Cut-and-pasted printed paper and gouache on paper
13 1/8 x 9 15/16” (33.3 x 25.2 cm)

Maquette for the book cover: A. G. Kravchenko, Kak kapitalisty vsekh stran ugnetaiut slabye narody (How the Capitalists of the World Suppress Poor Nations). Moscow: Gosudarstvennoe izdatel’stvo, 1929
Cut-and-pasted printed papers and gouache on paper
10 3/4 x 15 1/4“ (27.3 x 38.7 cm)

Untitled, 1929
Gelatin silver print (photogram)
12 3/4 x 9 1/4” (32 x 23.5 cm)

Untitled, c. 1933
Cut-and-pasted printed paper, gouache, and ink on paper
8 5/8 x 12 3/8” (21.9 x 31.4 cm)

Untitled, c. late 1920s–early 1930s
Cut-and-pasted printed paper, gouache, and ink on paper
11 7/8 x 16 5/8” (30 x 42 cm)

Untitled (Woodrow Wilson), c. 1930
Cut-and-pasted printed paper, gouache, and ink on paper
14 1/4 x 10" (36.2 x 25.6 cm)

Velosport (Cycling), No. 3 , c. 1930
Cut-and-pasted printed paper, gouache, and ink on paper
9 3/8 x 6 7/8” (23.8 x 17.5 cm)

Maquette for book cover (unused): Put’ ubiits (Path of the Killers). Moscow: Gosudarstvennoe izdatel’stvo, c. 1929
Cut-and-pasted printed paper and gouache on paper
10 1/2 x 14 1/2” (26.6 x 36.7 cm)

Untitled (for Figure Skating), 1930
Gelatin silver print (photogram)
9 3/8 x 6 7/8” (23.8 x 17.5 cm)

Mashiny v lesu (Cars in the Forest), c. late 1920s–early 1930s
Cut-and-pasted printed paper, gouache, and ink on paper
9 7/8 x 13 7/8” (25.1 x 35.2 cm)

Tekhnika molodezhi (Youth’s Technology), no. 5, c. 1928
Cut-and-pasted printed paper, gouache, pen, and pencil on paper
9 7/8 x 13 3/4” (25.1 x 34.5 cm)

Soldaty Armii Truda (Soldiers of the Army for Labor), c. 1932
Cut-and-pasted printed paper, gouache, and pencil on paper
15 x 11 1/4” (38.2 x 28.5 cm)

Narod pomoshchnik Krasnoi Armii (People Helpers to the Red Army), c. 1928
Cut-and-pasted gelatin silver prints and printed paper, gouache, and ink on paper
12 3/8 x 10 7/8” (31.4 x 27.6 cm)

Maquette for the book cover: Periodika SSSR (Periodicals of the USSR). Moscow: Mezhdunarodnaia kniga, 1931
Gouache and pencil on paper
5 7/8 x 22 1/2 ” (14.9 x 57.1 cm)

Untitled (for Figure Skating), 1930
Gelatin silver print (photogram)
7 3/8 x 5 1/8” (18.7 x 13 cm)

Rost produktsii i promyshlennosti SSSR (Production and Industry Growth in the USSR), c. 1930s
Cut-and-pasted gelatin silver print, printed paper, and gouache on paper
11 7/8 x 16 1⁄2” (30.2 x 41.9 cm)

Molodoe popolnenie rabochego klassa (Young Replenishment of the Working Class), c. 1927
Cut-and-pasted printed paper, gouache, ink, and pencil on paper
9 x 12 1/2” (22.9 x 31.8 cm)

Rabotnitsa! Uluchshai kachestvo, snizhai sebestoimost”, podnimai proizvoditel’nost’ truda, povyshai znaniia (Female Worker: Improve Quality, Reduce Costs, Raise Labor Productivity, Increase Knowledge), c. 1930
Cut-and-pasted gelatin silver print, lithograph, gouache, ink, and pencil on paper
12 5/8 x 11 1/4" (32.1 x 28.6 cm)

Aeroplany (Airplanes), c. 1931
Cut-and-pasted printed paper, gouache, and ink on paper
11 3/8 x 9” (28.9 x 22.9 cm)

Maquette for book cover: N. Stobrovsky, Dirizhabli (Airships). Moscow/Leningrad: Gosudarstvennoe nauchno-tekhnicheskoe izdatel’stvo. Moscow/Leningrad: State Scientific-Technical Publishing House, 1931
Cut-and-pasted gelatin silver print and printed paper, gouache, and ink on paper
12 x 15 3/4” (32.3 x 40 cm)

Note: The final, printed book is in the collection.

Book: V. G. Buchirin and N.P. Ermolov, V pomoshch’ chertezhniku- poligrafistu (Aid for the Draftsman and Graphic Designer). Moscow/Leningrad: GNTI-Gosudarstvennoe izdatel’stvo, 1932
Lithograph
8 3⁄4 x 5 3⁄4” (22.2 x 14.7 cm)

Tvortsy sovetskikh machin (The Creators of Soviet Machines), c. 1934
Cut-and-pasted printed and colored paper, gouache, and ink on paper
10 1/4 x 14 1/8” (26 x 36 cm)

Prazdnik sovetskoi fizkul’tury (Celebration of Soviet Physical Culture), c. 1928
Cut-and-pasted printed paper, gouache, and ink on paper
10 x 21 13/16” (25.3 x 55.4 cm)

The works shown here represent only a selection from the collection. Please contact us for further inquiry.