Vladimir Isdebsky Papers

in The Museum of Modern Art Archives

The Museum of Modern Art Archives
11 West 53 Street
New York, NY 10019-5497
moma.org/learn/resources/archives

© 2006

The Museum of Modern Art Museum Archives

Finding aid prepared by the Museum Archives.

Historical Note

Vladimir Isdebsky, born in Kiev, Russia on May 22, 1882, received his art education in Munich and Paris before returning to Russia in 1908 where he organized two Salons, held in Odessa between 1909-1910 and 1911. These Salons included the work of Wassily Kandinsky and Alexei Jawlensky, among many other contemporary artists, and introduced the European avant-garde of the early twentieth-century to the Russian public. In 1917 Isdebsky married poet Halina Huzarska with whom he had a son (Witold Isdebsky 1918-1949) and a daughter (Aline Isdebsky Pritchard [referred to in the finding aid as AIP], b. 1926). Between 1920 and 1940 Isdebsky pursued commercial art in Paris. He emigrated to the United States in 1941 where he resumed activity as an artist; his work was exhibited in Manhattan and Long Beach, New York. Isdebsky died on August 20, 1965, survived by his second wife Bronislava Kaplan Isdebsky and his daughter. A chronology of his life was prepared by Aline Isdebsky Pritchard in 1999 and is attached to this finding aid as Appendix A.

Scope and Content Note

The processed Papers (one 5" document box, one 2.5" document box and one 3 × 15 × 19" oversize box; one roll of microfilm; and one canister of negatives) include manuscript material, personal official documents, photographs, and published material, and reflect Isdebsky's involvement in artistic life in Russia (between 1909 and 1911), Paris (1920s) and the United States (after 1941). Catalogues for the 1909-10 and 1911 Odessa Salons organized by Isdebsky are available on microfilm. Photocopies of the Salon catalogues in Series II are available through the Library. The negatives may be the source of the photographs in the Papers.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions

The records are open for research and contain no restricted materials.

Ownership and Literary Rights

The Vladimir Isdebsky Papers are the physical property of The Museum of Modern Art. Literary rights, including copyright belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns. Rights to work produced during the normal course of Museum business resides with The Museum of Modern Art. For further information, and to obtain permission to publish or reproduce, contact the Museum Archivist.

Related Collections at MoMA and Elsewhere

This record group reflects the continuing interest of this Museum in the Russian avant-garde. Material relating to Russia and Russian artists can be found in the Alfred H. Barr, Jr. Papers. Series 8 Soviet Matters and Series 13 Russian Material. Documentation on Museum organized exhibitions circulated to Russia may be found in the Records of the International Program.

Administrative Information

Provenance

The Papers were a gift of Isdebsky's widow, Bronislava Kaplan Isdebsky, to the Museum in 1967; they were transferred from the Library's Special Collections to the Museum Archives Twentieth-Century Manuscript Collection in October, 1997 and processed according to archival standards. The chronology prepared by Aline Pritchard Isbedsky was a gift from the author and was added to the Papers in 1999.

Preferred Citation

Vladimir Isdebsky Papers, [series.folder]. The Museum of Modern Art Archives, New York.

Container List

Box and Folder List

Box	Series	Folder
1	I-II	I.1-I.5, II.1-II.4
2	II-III	II.5-II.17, III.1-III.5
3	II	II.5, II.7, II.8, II.13