The name of the Russian Soviet artist Vladimir Vasil'evich Lebedev (1891–1967) is world-renowned mainly in connection with his outstanding work in the genre of illustrated children's books. This fame, evidently, overshadows with a bright light other aspects of his multi-faceted talent. Yet at the same time Lebedev was one of the most versatile artists of the Russian avant-garde.

He was the author of ingenious graphic works, an experimental painter, a discoverer of new approaches in poster creation, and a master of theater decoration. The flowering of his creative activities took place during the most brilliant period in the history of Soviet art—the 1920s. This time of revolutionary transformation in Russian society coincided with t...