Vladimir Bobri

Today's post showcases works by the painter, illustrator, and poster artist Vladimir Bobritsky
(or Bobri, as he came to be known). Born in a wealthy family in Kharkov, Ukraine, in 1898,
 he studied at the Imperial Art School until the Russian Revolution began. During the ensuing
 civil war, Bobritsky fought on various sides before managing to escape to Turkey in 1917
 using a handmade Polish passport skillfully forged by himself. For a few years he wandered
in different areas of Greece and Turkey, while supporting himself with a variety of jobs
such as painting icons and signs, designing theater sets and movie posters,and playing the piano.

Bobritsky kept records of all his travels by constantly sketching his surroundings, and in 1921

 earned his passage to the US by designing sets and costumes for a Russian ballet in Istanbul.

Ads for Koret handbags, 1940

After arriving in New York Bobritsky held various jobs including art director at Saks Fifth Avenue, 

and soon found himself with enough clients to embark on a freelance illustrator career.
By the 1930s Bobri, as he had begun to sign his name, was a leading illustrator working in
 fashion, magazines and advertising. His accounts included Hanes, Koret and Avon; he frequently
 contributed to Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, McCall's and designed seven covers for The New Yorker.

 A Kiss Is Round by Blossom Budney, 1954

 In the 40's and 50's Bobry began to also produce llustrations for children's books, 
some of which have since become classics. His style was simple, elegant and bold. 

Let's Talk About Right and Wrong by Dorothy K. Kripke, 1955

 Sleepy Book by Charlotte Zolotow, 1958

The Whiskers of Ho Ho by William Littlefield, 1958

Icebergs by Roma Gans, 1964

Early 1960s ads for Hanes seamless stockings

Illustrations for The Guitar Review

As a young man Bobri had learned from gypsies to play the guitar, and this passion continued
all his life. In 1936 he was among the founders of The New York Society of the Classic Guitar,
and served as editor or art director of its publication The Guitar Review until 1985.
Other notable visual artists in the group were Gregory d'Alessio, George Giusti
and Antonio Petruccelli. Vladimir Bobri lost his life in a house fire in 1986
that also sadly destroyed most of his works.

An Illustrated Life

Le Monde A Envers, (Pomme d'Api), 1942

To celebrate my daughter Michelle, who just found out that she's been accepted 

for an Erasmus exchange stay at the Académie Royale des Beaux Arts in Brussels,

today's post is dedicated to Elisabeth Ivanovsky, a very talented and prolific painter 

and illustrator who spent most of her life in Belgium. A big thanks to the administrator 

of Ivanovsky's facebook page, a great resource with photos, books and information.

Et moi de m’encourir (Pomme d'Api), 1945

Elisavieta Andreevna Ivanovskaia was born in 1910 in Moldova, Russia. Her aristocratic family lost their home 

and property during the revolution, before the province where they lived became part of Romania in 1919. 

As a child Elisabeth loved to draw, and at eleven she hand lettered and illustrated a series of ten tales

 written by her older brother Valentin. At 18 she graduated in drawing, painting, printmaking, costume and set design.

 Wanting to become a self sufficient professional artist, she decided to continue her studies in the West,

 and chose the Higher Institute of Decorative Arts (La Cambre) recently established in Brussels

 in the spirit of the Bauhaus. In 1932 she moved to Belgium and began following the courses of book illustration

 with Joris Minne and of theater sets and costumes with the writer and playwright Herman Teirlinck.

Cirkus, 1933 (reprinted in 2010 by éditions MeMo)

While studying Ivanovsky employed her creativity to make ends meet, and in 1933  produced Cirkus, 

a portfolio of seven watercolor stencils which became her first published work in the West. 

The strong, simple and elegant shapes of these early works show similarities with both 

the Soviet children's books of the time and European Art Deco illustration.

Two Russian Tales, 1934

When Ivanovsky graduated in the arts of printing and book illustration in 1934, two members

 of the Board of Examiners, struck by her extraordinary talent, helped her to launch her career: 

the publisher Sikkel commissioned her pictures for the famous Flemish writer Baekelmans Lode, 

while the French novelist and poet Franz Hellens asked her to illustrate one of his books.

 Hellens, whose wife was Russian, invited Ivanovsky to spend the summer at his home in Walloon Brabant.

Thanks to him, she came into contact with the then Belgian literary world and met the French poet

 René Meurant, whom she married. Between 1934 and 1936 Ivanovsky illustrated several titles, including

 Two Russian Tales, Large and Small, Loads of stories, La Mort dans l'Âme, Saint Nicolas
and Story of Bass, Bassina, Boulou. 

original artworks for Grands et Petits (Large and Small), 1934

character for le Roman de Renard, 1935

 Histoire de Bass, Bassina, Boulou, 1936, written by Franz Hellens

Onze Kleine Zwemmers, 1938

L'Hôte Mystérieux, 1940

Mayan tales, 1943

Ivanovsky collaborated with numerous French and Flemish writers.

Bestiaire des Songes, 1943, was produced with her poet husband René Meurant

Pomme d’Api (republished in 2007 as Les très petits by éditions MeMo)

Between 1940 and 1950 Ivanovsky and Meurant also created the very successful series 

of miniature books Pomme d’Api for the Belgian publisher Éditions des Artistes.

Et moi de m’encourir (Pomme d'Api), 1945

Contes du Soleil, 1956

As times changed, Ivanovsky' developed a new illustrative style and techniques, and in the postwar years

 she mainly illustrated tender and humorous books for small children. From 1937 she began a long

 and fruitful collaboration with Marcelle Verité, and these two notable ladies of children's literature

 worked together for nearly fifty years: their last common title, Lili ladybug, was released in 1985.

Petite Ombrelle Petit Parapluie, 1963

L'Alphabet de Pierrot, 1963

Tip Tip the Postman, 1968

The 23 albums of the Tip Tip series (1967-70) were Ivanovsky's last collaboration 

with the Belgian publisher Desclée de Brouwer

Ivanovsky's studio in her home in the outskirts of Bruxelles, where she lived from 1946 until her death.

She passed away in 2006, and has since been remembered and celebrated in Moldava, Belgium and France.

 Her bibliography contains 346 original titles published in 23 languages ​​in 26 countries.

Whaleriders

Jimmy Liao

Jean de Brunhoff, Le voyage de Babar, 1932

Bohdan Butenko, Pan Maluśkiewicz i Wieloryb, 1956, via Hipopotamstudio

Peter Arno, 1962

Werner Klemke

William Steig, 1971

Agata Dudek

Kathleen Lolley

Marije Tolman

Jill Labieniec

Martyna Zoltasek

Óscar Villán

Riccardo Guasco

Lakhsmita Indira

Massimo Caccia