Union of Art Workers

Categories / Art/Fine Arts/Art and Literary Associations
UNION OF ART WORKERS is a public association established on the initiative of the Society of Architects-Artists in March, 1917, to reform artistic life of the country. It united about 200 artistic organizations, associations and groups and was divided into eight "curias" (in accordance with the number of main arts). Their meetings were held in the building of the Academy of Arts and chaired by architect Alexander Tamanov. Soon the Union separated into the "leftist block" (members of innovative trends and students) led by Osip Brik, Nikolay Punin, among others and the "business block" (traditional painters, theatre actors, etc.) leaded by K.I. Arabazhin. The Union maintained the freedom of art and artistic education, protested against the attempts of the Provisional Government and Bolshevik authorities to control artistic life, but the struggle between the two blocks hindered the effective operation of the Union. It ceased to exist in autumn of 1918.

Reference: Евсевьев М. Ю. Из истории художественной жизни Петрограда в 1917 - начале 1918 гг. // Проблемы искусствознания и художественной критики. Л., 1982. С. 148-182.; Манин В. С. Искусство в резервации: Худож. жизнь России 1917-1941 гг. М., 1999; Крусанов А. В. Русский авангард 1907-1932: Ист. обзор. М., 2003. Т. 2, кн. 1.

A. V. Krusanov. Arabazhin Konstantin Ivanovich
Brik Osip Maximovich
Punin Nikolay Nikolaevich
Tamanov (Tamanyan) Alexander Ivanovich (Ovanesov)
Евсевьев М. Ю. Из истории художественной жизни Петрограда в 1917 – начала 1918 гг. // Проблемы искусствознания и художественной критики. Л., 1982
Манин В. С. Искусство в резервации: Худож. жизнь России 1917-1941 гг. М., 1999 Society of Architectural Artists, creative society
Academy of Arts