Select image below to view
SOVIET COLD WAR PROPAGANDA POSTER. Comprising an almost comical propaganda poster promoting fitness. Upper left text reading, “Propaganda poster #1233 From the Union of Artists USSR,” and text on panels from top to bottom reading, with a poem by Mikhail Yacovlevich Pustynin (1884-1966), “Don't disturb my sweet dreams - I'm against the morning exercises.” “I don't see any gain from exercising. Maybe I should skip class as well.” “I'm not interested in the competitive spirit, I despise all kinds of sports...” “If he were to be hardened by sport, then he wouldn't be so weak and tired.” Artist N. Ten, 1965. Poster measuring 46 x 28 inches (116.8 × 71.1cm), overall including attractive exhibition frame glazed with plexiglass, 48.5 x 30.5 inches (123.2 × 77.5cm).
Provenance:
The Gary Hollingsworth lifetime collection
Important Notice: The absence of condition information in the description does not imply that the lot is in perfect condition, a condition report is available by request.
Estimate:
$50 - 150
€ 43 - 129
Soviet propaganda posters often appear absurd and hypocritical because they deliberately manufactured an idealized Utopian reality ("socialist paradise") that directly contradicted the harsh everyday realities of censorship, scarcity, and state violence. These images aimed to force-mold the public mindset, creating a "carnival of hypocrisy," where brutal Stalinist policies were masked by imagery of joy and progress. It is precisely the almost comical absurdity known by those who lived under such a regime that makes collecting these types of posters so popular today, especially considering the endless variations created.
Exhibited:
Darker Shades of Red: Soviet Propaganda Art from the Cold War. St. Mary's College Museum of Art, Moraga, California, February-March 2018; Museum of Russian Icons, Clinton, Massachusetts, June-August 2014; Albin Polasek Museum and Sculpture Gardens, Winter Park, Florida, September 2011-January 2012; Chung Chan Art Gallery at St. John's University, Queens, New York, September-November 2006; Snite Museum of Art at the University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana, September-November 2004; Springfield Art Association, Springfield, Illinois, February-April 2003; Thompson Gallery at San José State University, San Jose, California, October-November 2001; Plains Art Museum, Fargo, North Dakota, February-April 2001; Durham Western Heritage Museum, Omaha, Nebraska, February-April 1999; Gallery at the University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida, August-September 1998.
