Imaginists, 1925
Photolithographic cover; letterpressexpand_more
Gift of the Print and Drawing Councilexpand_more 2000.130.4
Not on Viewexpand_more
The Imaginist group was founded about 1919. Its members initially supported the Revolution and considered themselves to be to the left of the Futurists. It was inspired by the poet Sergei Esenin, the husband of Isadora Duncan, who committed suicide in 1925. Imaginists sought the primacy of "the image" in poetry, hoping to think in images; they maintained that a poem is not an organism but an agglomeration of images; their pessimism and use of coarse language exceeded that of the Futurists. In 1925, they published their anthology, Imaginists. Georgii Stenberg's cover is adorned with photographs of Ivnev, Shershenevich, Mariengof and Roizman. Esenin's portrait was omitted. His tragic death portended a victory for those who believed that the Revolution marked the end of individualism and the beginning of the new era of the collective; Esenism was described as a disease which could undermine the new society.
Details
- Title
- Imaginists
- Artist Life
- 1900 - 1933
- Role
- Artist
- Accession Number
- 2000.130.4
- Provenance
- ex-libris Anatoliy Tarasenkhov
- Catalogue Raisonne
- Compton 58; Hellyer 146
- Curator Approved
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