Samariy Gurariy, Large Silver Gelatin Russian Photograph Potsdam Conference Truman Photo WWII

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Potsdam conference meeting depicting Josef Stalin, Winston Churchill and Harry Truman on the balcony gelatin silver print, matte finish on … Read more Potsdam conference meeting depicting Josef Stalin, Winston Churchill and Harry Truman on the balcony gelatin silver print, matte finish on photograph, artist's stamp verso, approximately 11" x 15-1/2" sheet, date of printing unknown. Provenance: acquired from the estate of photographer Samariy Gurariy. Samariy Gurariy (1916 - 1998) was a Soviet Union photojournalist and photographer. He was born to a Jewish family in Kremenchug Poltavs'ka moving to Moscow in 1921. He began his career in 1934, photographing for the illustration department of the Moscow newspaper Izvestia. He also did work for Pravda, Tass and Gaz. He became the favorite photo correspondent of Stalin and was present and working at many of the most historic events of Stalin's career, such as the Yalta and Potsdam Conferences as well as covering the Soviet-Nazi front during the Second World War. According to writer George Alexander, Gurariy also “. . . photographed Molotov at the opening ceremonies of the United Nations, Khruschev’s historic Moscow meeting with Fidel Castro, Jimmy Carter’s meeting with Leonid Brezhnev and many of the early cosmonauts, including Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space.” The photographer decided to immigrate to the United States after the collapse of the USSR, smuggling a series of photograph prints through Israel along the way before arriving in America in 1995. Today in Russia, he is regarded by photographic historians as the equal of Russian and Ukrainian greats Dmitri Baltermants, Yevgeny Khaldei, Max Alpert and Arkady Shaikhet. Excerpted from “Samariy Gurariy: An Introduction to the Life and Works” by George Alexander Photography assignments were only given to the most trustworthy party members. The most famous photographer of the pre-war time, “Stalin’s falcon” Alexander Rodchenko, was only photographing “the positive side of reality:” parades and marches, famous people, symbols of time and of the epoch. Even on his trips to the construction site of the White sea channel (Belomorkanal), that, as we all know, was built by prisoners, Rodchenko managed to get happy faces. In English the spelling of his name is also found as Samari Gurary and Samary Gurari, Shmuel Mikhailovitch Gur-Arye, Samariy Mikhailovich Gurari, Samarii Gurarii. Samariy Mikhailovich (Mikhoel-Leibovich) Gurari ( 1916 -1998) - Soviet photographer, Honored Worker of Culture of the RSFSR. Born on November 1, 1916 in Kremenchug (now Poltava region, Ukraine) in the family of Mikhoel-Leib Gurari (1881-1925). He died on December 7, 1998 in New York where he lived in his last years. Buried in Moscow at the Piskariovskoye cemetery. His vintage archive is represented by Anya Tish Gallery and has been sold at auction by Swann Gallery, Hermitage Fine Art and others. Awards and recognition Honored Worker of Culture of the RSFSR . Order of the Red Star (19.2.1943) Order of the Patriotic War II degree (6.4.1985); Order of the Badge of Honor. Moscow encyclopedia. Volume 1: Faces of Moscow. Book 1: AZ. M .: Publishing Center "Moskvovedenie", 2007 See less