Max Penson
Encyclopedia
Max Penson was a noted Jewish
Belarus
ian photojournalist and photographer of the Soviet Union
noted for his photographs of Uzbekistan
. His photographs documented the economic transformation of Uzbekistan from a highly traditional feudal society into a modern Soviet republic between 1920 and 1940. Max Penson is one of the most prominent representatives of the Uzbek photography.
in present day Smolensk Oblast
, Russia
. He soon moved to Vilno where he enrolled in the art school of S. N. Yuzhanin. In 1914, he was forced as a Jew to move with his family to Kokand
in Turkestan
.
After the 1917 Russian Revolution he founded an art school in Kokand under administration of the Kokand Revolutinary Committee. He became the director and taught draftsmanship to 350 Uzbek children studying at the school. In 1921 his life changed dramatically when he obtained a camera. He would go on to become one of Uzbekistan's and indeed the Soviet Union's prominent professional photographers in the period 1920-1940, capturing its people and economic progression and made over 30,000 photographs by 1940.
He moved to the Uzbek capital of Tashkent
and from 1926 through to 1949 worked for the largest newspaper in Central Asia, the Pravda Vostoka
(Truth of the East). During the 1930s he was particularly prolific in capturing the public engineering works in Uzbekistan and the industrialization of the cotton trade in the country. Penson's images were widely circulated by the Soviet news agency TASS
and in 1933 his photographs featured in an extensive volume exploring economic progression in the Soviet Union entitled, USSR: Under Construction.
In 1937 Penson participated in the World Exhibition in Paris
winning the Grand Prix Award for Uzbek Madonna, a portrait of a young Uzbek woman, publicly nursing her child. In 1939 he photographed the construction of the Grand Fergana Canal. In 1940 Penson met Sergei Eisenstein
who said of him:
under pressure by Joseph Stalin
forced Penson to leave his 25 year long position with the Pravda Vostoka. He died in 1959 after a long period of depression
and illness.
. In 2006 Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich
sponsored an exhibition of Penson's photographs of Uzbekistan in agreement with the Moscow House of Photography on 29 November 2006 at the Gilbert Collection
at Somerset House
in London. Abramovich had previously funded the exhibition "Quiet Resistance: Russian Pictorial Photography 1900s-1930s" at the same gallery in 2005, also organised by the Moscow House of Photography.. Another Gallery that has explored Max Penson's photographic legacy is the Galeyev Gallery
, with a personalised exhibition of Penson's work in Moscow (21st September - 31st October 2006) . The latest exhibitions of Penson's works were at the Russian Cultural Centre (London)
(Commonly known as Pushkin House), from November 30th to December 2nd, 2010 and at Nailya Alexander Gallery in New York City from April 5 to May 13, 2011. .
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
ian photojournalist and photographer of the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
noted for his photographs of Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
. His photographs documented the economic transformation of Uzbekistan from a highly traditional feudal society into a modern Soviet republic between 1920 and 1940. Max Penson is one of the most prominent representatives of the Uzbek photography.
Biography
He was born into a poor bookbinder's family in 1893 in the small town of VelizhVelizh
Velizh is a town and the administrative center of Velizhsky District of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, situated on the bank of the Western Dvina, from Smolensk. Population:...
in present day Smolensk Oblast
Smolensk Oblast
Smolensk Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Its area is . Population: -Geography:The administrative center of Smolensk Oblast is the city of Smolensk. Other ancient towns include Vyazma and Dorogobuzh....
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. He soon moved to Vilno where he enrolled in the art school of S. N. Yuzhanin. In 1914, he was forced as a Jew to move with his family to Kokand
Kokand
Kokand is a city in Fergana Province in eastern Uzbekistan, at the southwestern edge of the Fergana Valley. It has a population of 192,500 . Kokand is 228 km southeast of Tashkent, 115 km west of Andijan, and 88 km west of Fergana...
in Turkestan
Turkestan
Turkestan, spelled also as Turkistan, literally means "Land of the Turks".The term Turkestan is of Persian origin and has never been in use to denote a single nation. It was first used by Persian geographers to describe the place of Turkish peoples...
.
After the 1917 Russian Revolution he founded an art school in Kokand under administration of the Kokand Revolutinary Committee. He became the director and taught draftsmanship to 350 Uzbek children studying at the school. In 1921 his life changed dramatically when he obtained a camera. He would go on to become one of Uzbekistan's and indeed the Soviet Union's prominent professional photographers in the period 1920-1940, capturing its people and economic progression and made over 30,000 photographs by 1940.
He moved to the Uzbek capital of Tashkent
Tashkent
Tashkent is the capital of Uzbekistan and of the Tashkent Province. The officially registered population of the city in 2008 was about 2.2 million. Unofficial sources estimate the actual population may be as much as 4.45 million.-Early Islamic History:...
and from 1926 through to 1949 worked for the largest newspaper in Central Asia, the Pravda Vostoka
Pravda Vostoka
Pravda Vostoka is a Russian language newspaper published in Uzbekistan. The paper was founded in 1917 under the name Nasha gazeta . It received its current name in 1924, and was the main Russian language newspaper of the Uzbek SSR. It had a print run of 250.000 newspapers....
(Truth of the East). During the 1930s he was particularly prolific in capturing the public engineering works in Uzbekistan and the industrialization of the cotton trade in the country. Penson's images were widely circulated by the Soviet news agency TASS
TASS
TASS or Tass may refer to:* Telluride Association Sophomore Seminar, a six-week educational opportunity for minority high school students* Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union, TASS is the transliteration of the Russian abbreviation for it...
and in 1933 his photographs featured in an extensive volume exploring economic progression in the Soviet Union entitled, USSR: Under Construction.
In 1937 Penson participated in the World Exhibition in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
winning the Grand Prix Award for Uzbek Madonna, a portrait of a young Uzbek woman, publicly nursing her child. In 1939 he photographed the construction of the Grand Fergana Canal. In 1940 Penson met Sergei Eisenstein
Sergei Eisenstein
Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein , né Eizenshtein, was a pioneering Soviet Russian film director and film theorist, often considered to be the "Father of Montage"...
who said of him:
Decline and death
In 1948 the increase in anti-SemitismAnti-Semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
under pressure by Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
forced Penson to leave his 25 year long position with the Pravda Vostoka. He died in 1959 after a long period of depression
Clinical depression
Major depressive disorder is a mental disorder characterized by an all-encompassing low mood accompanied by low self-esteem, and by loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities...
and illness.
Legacy
A great number of Penson's works are housed in the Moscow House of PhotographyMoscow House of Photography
Moscow House of Photography is a Russian museum, which maintains a large collection of old and contemporary Russian photographic masterpieces and also organizes festivals and large scale projects....
. In 2006 Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich
Roman Abramovich
Roman Arkadyevich Abramovich is a Russian businessman and the main owner of the private investment company Millhouse LLC.In 2003, Abramovich was named Person of the Year by Expert, a Russian business magazine. He shared this title with Mikhail Khodorkovsky...
sponsored an exhibition of Penson's photographs of Uzbekistan in agreement with the Moscow House of Photography on 29 November 2006 at the Gilbert Collection
Gilbert Collection
The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection is a collection of objets d'art formed by the English-born businessman Sir Arthur Gilbert, who made most of his fortune in the property business in California. After initially becoming interested in silver, he assembled a large collection of decorative...
at Somerset House
Somerset House
Somerset House is a large building situated on the south side of the Strand in central London, England, overlooking the River Thames, just east of Waterloo Bridge. The central block of the Neoclassical building, the outstanding project of the architect Sir William Chambers, dates from 1776–96. It...
in London. Abramovich had previously funded the exhibition "Quiet Resistance: Russian Pictorial Photography 1900s-1930s" at the same gallery in 2005, also organised by the Moscow House of Photography.. Another Gallery that has explored Max Penson's photographic legacy is the Galeyev Gallery
Galeyev Gallery
Galeyev Gallery is a gallery specializing in the 20th Century Russian works of art of the pre-World War II period. It was founded in May 2006...
, with a personalised exhibition of Penson's work in Moscow (21st September - 31st October 2006) . The latest exhibitions of Penson's works were at the Russian Cultural Centre (London)
Russian Cultural Centre (London)
Pushkin House is an organization of Russian culture in London.-The building:5 Bloomsbury Square as we see it today was built c.1703 as part of the estate of the Earl of Southampton. It was altered substantially by architect Henry Flitcroft in the 1740s; Flitcroft added the Palladian façade...
(Commonly known as Pushkin House), from November 30th to December 2nd, 2010 and at Nailya Alexander Gallery in New York City from April 5 to May 13, 2011. .