Nikolai and Aleksei Ushin: Iterative Pairings

Nikolai Ushin (Russian, 1898-1942)
Muzika i byt, no. 1 (Music and Everyday Life), 1927
Top: maquette for periodical cover
Gouache, cut-and-pasted paper, and ink on paper,
10 3/8 x 14 1/4” (27.3 x 36.2 cm)
Bottom: proof for periodical cover
Lithograph on paper, 10 3/4 x 14 7/8” (27.3 x 37.8 cm)

My collection has long focused on process; on matching maquettes with proofs and final printed matter. Today we are sharing two such iterative pairings by the brothers Nikolai Ushin (Russian, 1898-1942) and Aleksei Ushin (Russian, 1904–1942).

Often the hunt to find these pairings spanned decades and the match was realized years apart. One such example is shown above: I discovered the maquette in the 1990s, and the proof some thirty years later.

Aleksei Ushin (Russian, 1904–1942)
Feodor Nikitin, 1929
Left: maquette for book cover
cut-and-pasted gelatin silver print on card stock with gouache,
7 1/4 x 5 3/4” (18.4 x 14.6 cm)
Right: book cover
Lithograph, 6 5/8 x 5 1/8” (16/8 x 13 cm)

October 21, 2024