Three Portraits of Varvara

Flints 21st May Fine Sale features two vintage photographs by Alexander Rodchenko, both of his daughter Varvara. By pure serendipity, another vendor has entered a self-portrait photogram by Varvara herself, an acclaimed creative photographer in her own right. Varvara died in 2019.

VARVARA RODCHENKO (1925-2019) A Self-Portrait Photogram, 1968 vintage gelatin silver photogram print, image size 14.5cm x 20cm, (later?) inscribed in ball-point pen in Russian verso, translating as ‘Rodchenko, V.A. self-portrait photogram 1968’

Alexander Mikhailovich Rodchenko – Алекса́ндр Миха́йлович Ро́дченко – (1891-1956) the Russian artist, sculptor and photographer was one of the founders of constructivism and at the forefront of modern Soviet design. He was married to the artist Varvara Stepanova, and their daughter, also called Varvara, was born in 1925.

ALEXANDER RODCHENKO (1891-1956) A Portrait of Vavara Rodchenko, 1944 vintage gelatin silver print of the artist’s daughter, wetstamp verso, printed 1944-1950, image 12.5cm x 18cm, in cream card mount 40cm x 51cm