Vladimir Bobri
Encyclopedia
Vladimir Bobri ( (May 13, 1898, Kharkiv
, Ukraine
– November 1986, Rosendale, New York
) was an illustrator, author, composer, educator and guitar historian. Celebrated for his prolific and innovative graphic design work in New York since the mid-1920s, Bobri was also a founder of the New York Society of The Classic Guitar in 1936, and served as editor and art director of its magazine, The Guitar Review, for nearly 40 years.
. Swept up in the Russian Revolution, Bobritsky fought on various sides in the civil war before managing to escape in 1917.
"After the Revolution came a long and enforced period of travel and a kind of montage of activity," wrote Bobritsky's friend and fellow artist Saul Yalkert in a biographical sketch printed in Forty Illustrators and How They Work (1946):
Bobritsky painted icons in the Greek islands, played the piano in a nickelodeon in Pera
, painted signs in Istanbul
, discovered an important Byzantine mural in an abandoned Turkish mosque, and earned his passage to America by designing sets and costumes for the Ballet Russes in Constantinople.
"Through all those wanderings his knapsack always had a watercolor box, a drawing pad," Yalkert wrote. "The record was kept with constant sketching of people, stories, folklore, folk music and crafts."
Bobritsky emigrated to the United States in 1921.
In his artist profile in Forty Illustrators and How They Work, Ernest W. Watson reports that Bobritsky began operating his own textile printing establishment soon after arriving in New York. "In 1925 he was called in by the art director of Wanamaker's
, in an experiment with modern advertising," Watson wrote. "His radically different newspaper layouts were more than the establishment could stomach and both artist and art director were dismissed. But Saks Fifth Avenue
saw, admired and beckoned." Saks offered Bobri the position of art director.
"His newspaper and magazine layouts represented a fresh departure," wrote Walt Reed, scholar and historian of illustration art. "Bobri soon found himself with enough clients to embark on a freelance career, largely for advertising illustrations, and strongly influenced by his background of classical training and theatrical designing."
The first of Bobritsky's seven covers for The New Yorker
magazine was dated February 6, 1926. By the 1930s, Bobritzky — or Bobri, as he signed his name with greater frequency — had become a leading illustrator in the burgeoning world of advertising. His accounts included Hanes, Koret and Avon; his work was prominent in the Annual of Advertising Art. He also gained renown as an illustrator of children's books.
Bobri frequently contributed to Vogue
, Harper's Bazaar
, McCall's
and many other magazines. As well as appearing in the March 1938 issue of The American Magazine, Bobri's title illustration for Too Many Cooks
, a Nero Wolfe
mystery by Rex Stout
, adorns a recipe box that is one of the most sought-after pieces of Stoutiana.
Bobri continued his study of the guitar. In 1936, he and a small group began meeting informally, forming the first major classical guitar society in New York City, the New York Society of the Classic Guitar.
"The Society's beginnings were somewhat modest, but Bobri, through a seemingly small act, would ensure the Society's preeminence for decades to come," wrote Lester S. Long in NYlon Review, the official newsletter of the New York City Classical Guitar Society:
In 1946, the society began publishing The Guitar Review. Bobri served as editor and art director of the quarterly magazine until 1985.
As well as designing a number of album covers for Segovia recordings, Bobri wrote and illustrated the influential book, The Segovia Technique (1972).
In 1972, Bobri was decorated with the Cross of Isabel la Catolica with the rank of Knight-Commander, recognizing his lifelong achievements as a designer, painter, art director, composer and writer, and his use of those talents to increase awareness of Spanish culture. The award was presented by the consul general of Spain in New York, at a ceremony attended by Spanish dignitaries including Andres Segovia.
In November 1986, Vladimir Bobri lost his life in a house fire that consumed almost all of his material. In its Winter 1987 issue, The Guitar Review wrote, "In the midst of our inability to accept so great a loss, we are seduced by a possible validity in the old Viking philosophy: the belief that the helmsman and his pyre are sent resurrected into the unknown, to sail the sea of eternity. May we hope it's true that our dear friend Bobri has indeed embarked on that mythical journey, still in possession of all he took with him."
Kharkiv
Kharkiv or Kharkov is the second-largest city in Ukraine.The city was founded in 1654 and was a major centre of Ukrainian culture in the Russian Empire. Kharkiv became the first city in Ukraine where the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed in December 1917 and Soviet government was...
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
– November 1986, Rosendale, New York
Rosendale, New York
Rosendale is a town in the center of Ulster County, New York, United States. It once contained a village of the same name, which was dissolved through a vote. The population was 6,075 at the 2010 census.- History :...
) was an illustrator, author, composer, educator and guitar historian. Celebrated for his prolific and innovative graphic design work in New York since the mid-1920s, Bobri was also a founder of the New York Society of The Classic Guitar in 1936, and served as editor and art director of its magazine, The Guitar Review, for nearly 40 years.
Biography
Vladimir Bobritsky studied at the rigorous Kharkiv Imperial Art School. By 1915 he had begun designing sets for the Great Dramatic Theatre of Kharkiv, introducing the methods of theatrical designer Gordon CraigEdward Gordon Craig
Edward Henry Gordon Craig , sometimes known as Gordon Craig, was an English modernist theatre practitioner; he worked as an actor, director and scenic designer, as well as developing an influential body of theoretical writings...
. Swept up in the Russian Revolution, Bobritsky fought on various sides in the civil war before managing to escape in 1917.
"After the Revolution came a long and enforced period of travel and a kind of montage of activity," wrote Bobritsky's friend and fellow artist Saul Yalkert in a biographical sketch printed in Forty Illustrators and How They Work (1946):
- As a refugee he traveled on a handmade passport, eight closely printed pages in Polish, so skillfully wrought that it left no doubt as to his talent and feeling for calligraphy, since it successfully passed the expert examination of the English, French, Italian and Greek consular authorities. ... In the mountainous, peninsular Crimea he worked as a wine presser for the Tartar fruit and wine growers. Later he came in contact with Russian, Hungarian and Spanish gypsies, studied their lore, the peculiarities of the different tribes. Having met with a band of gypsies in the Crimea he earned his way as a guitar player in their chorus.
Bobritsky painted icons in the Greek islands, played the piano in a nickelodeon in Pera
Pera
Pera may refer to:People* Marcus Junius Pera, Roman dictator* Alfredo Le Pera , Brazilian journalist* Marcello Pera , Italian philosopher and politician* Marília Pêra , Brazilian actress* Patrick Péra , French figure skater...
, painted signs in Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, discovered an important Byzantine mural in an abandoned Turkish mosque, and earned his passage to America by designing sets and costumes for the Ballet Russes in Constantinople.
"Through all those wanderings his knapsack always had a watercolor box, a drawing pad," Yalkert wrote. "The record was kept with constant sketching of people, stories, folklore, folk music and crafts."
Bobritsky emigrated to the United States in 1921.
In his artist profile in Forty Illustrators and How They Work, Ernest W. Watson reports that Bobritsky began operating his own textile printing establishment soon after arriving in New York. "In 1925 he was called in by the art director of Wanamaker's
Wanamaker's
Wanamaker's department store was the first department store in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and one of the first department stores in the United States. At its zenith in the early 20th century, there were two major Wanamaker department stores, one in Philadelphia and one in New York City at Broadway...
, in an experiment with modern advertising," Watson wrote. "His radically different newspaper layouts were more than the establishment could stomach and both artist and art director were dismissed. But Saks Fifth Avenue
Saks Fifth Avenue
Saks Fifth Avenue is a luxury American specialty store owned and operated by Saks Fifth Avenue Enterprises , a subsidiary of Saks Incorporated. It competes in the high-end specialty store market in the Upper East Side of Manhattan, i.e. 'the 3 B's' Bergdorf, Barneys, Bloomingdale's and Lord & Taylor...
saw, admired and beckoned." Saks offered Bobri the position of art director.
"His newspaper and magazine layouts represented a fresh departure," wrote Walt Reed, scholar and historian of illustration art. "Bobri soon found himself with enough clients to embark on a freelance career, largely for advertising illustrations, and strongly influenced by his background of classical training and theatrical designing."
The first of Bobritsky's seven covers for The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
magazine was dated February 6, 1926. By the 1930s, Bobritzky — or Bobri, as he signed his name with greater frequency — had become a leading illustrator in the burgeoning world of advertising. His accounts included Hanes, Koret and Avon; his work was prominent in the Annual of Advertising Art. He also gained renown as an illustrator of children's books.
Bobri frequently contributed to Vogue
Vogue (magazine)
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...
, Harper's Bazaar
Harper's Bazaar
Harper’s Bazaar is an American fashion magazine, first published in 1867. Harper’s Bazaar is published by Hearst and, as a magazine, considers itself to be the style resource for “women who are the first to buy the best, from casual to couture.”...
, McCall's
McCall's
McCall's was a monthly American women's magazine that enjoyed great popularity through much of the 20th century, peaking at a readership of 8.4 million in the early 1960s. It was established as a small-format magazine called The Queen in 1873...
and many other magazines. As well as appearing in the March 1938 issue of The American Magazine, Bobri's title illustration for Too Many Cooks
Too Many Cooks
Too Many Cooks is the fifth Nero Wolfe detective novel by American mystery writer Rex Stout. The story was serialized in The American Magazine before its publication in book form in 1938 by Farrar & Rinehart, Inc...
, a Nero Wolfe
Nero Wolfe
Nero Wolfe is a fictional detective, created in 1934 by the American mystery writer Rex Stout. Wolfe's confidential assistant Archie Goodwin narrates the cases of the detective genius. Stout wrote 33 novels and 39 short stories from 1934 to 1974, with most of them set in New York City. Wolfe's...
mystery by Rex Stout
Rex Stout
Rex Todhunter Stout was an American writer noted for his detective fiction. Stout is best known as the creator of the larger-than-life fictional detective Nero Wolfe, described by reviewer Will Cuppy as "that Falstaff of detectives." Wolfe's assistant Archie Goodwin recorded the cases of the...
, adorns a recipe box that is one of the most sought-after pieces of Stoutiana.
Bobri continued his study of the guitar. In 1936, he and a small group began meeting informally, forming the first major classical guitar society in New York City, the New York Society of the Classic Guitar.
"The Society's beginnings were somewhat modest, but Bobri, through a seemingly small act, would ensure the Society's preeminence for decades to come," wrote Lester S. Long in NYlon Review, the official newsletter of the New York City Classical Guitar Society:
- An illustrator by trade, Bobri presented Andres SegoviaAndrés SegoviaAndrés Torres Segovia, 1st Marquis of Salobreña , known as Andrés Segovia, was a virtuoso Spanish classical guitarist from Linares, Jaén, Andalucia, Spain...
with an offer to paint his portrait. Segovia accepted. In the process the pair began a decade-long friendship and Segovia accepted the position of honorary president of the Society. Already a star in Europe and starting his career in the United States, Segovia would be no mere figurehead; instead, he would influence the artistic direction of the Society for nearly 50 years as chairman of the advisory committee.
In 1946, the society began publishing The Guitar Review. Bobri served as editor and art director of the quarterly magazine until 1985.
As well as designing a number of album covers for Segovia recordings, Bobri wrote and illustrated the influential book, The Segovia Technique (1972).
In 1972, Bobri was decorated with the Cross of Isabel la Catolica with the rank of Knight-Commander, recognizing his lifelong achievements as a designer, painter, art director, composer and writer, and his use of those talents to increase awareness of Spanish culture. The award was presented by the consul general of Spain in New York, at a ceremony attended by Spanish dignitaries including Andres Segovia.
In November 1986, Vladimir Bobri lost his life in a house fire that consumed almost all of his material. In its Winter 1987 issue, The Guitar Review wrote, "In the midst of our inability to accept so great a loss, we are seduced by a possible validity in the old Viking philosophy: the belief that the helmsman and his pyre are sent resurrected into the unknown, to sail the sea of eternity. May we hope it's true that our dear friend Bobri has indeed embarked on that mythical journey, still in possession of all he took with him."
Author
- 1972 The Segovia Technique (Macmillan Publishing Company, Hardcover; 1990, The Bold Strummer, Paperback ISBN 0933224494)
- 1974 A Musical Voyage with Two Guitars: 64 Duets from 34 Countries (with Carl Miller)
- 1985 Complete Study of Tremolo for the Classic Guitar (Alfred Publishing Company, Paperback ISBN 0769212956)
Illustrator
- 1929 The Crimson Circle by Edgar WallaceEdgar WallaceRichard Horatio Edgar Wallace was an English crime writer, journalist, novelist, screenwriter, and playwright, who wrote 175 novels, 24 plays, and numerous articles in newspapers and journals....
(The Crime Club, Doubleday, Doran and Company, Garden City, New York, hardcover; dust jacket design) - 1929 The Face in the Night by Edgar WallaceEdgar WallaceRichard Horatio Edgar Wallace was an English crime writer, journalist, novelist, screenwriter, and playwright, who wrote 175 novels, 24 plays, and numerous articles in newspapers and journals....
(The Crime Club, Doubleday, Doran and Company, Garden City, New York, hardcover; dust jacket design) - 1930 The Day the World Ended by Sax RohmerSax RohmerArthur Henry Sarsfield Ward , better known as Sax Rohmer, was a prolific English novelist. He is best remembered for his series of novels featuring the master criminal Dr...
(The Crime Club, Doubleday, Doran and Company, Garden City, New York, hardcover; dust jacket design) - 1931 The Law of the Three Just Men by Edgar WallaceEdgar WallaceRichard Horatio Edgar Wallace was an English crime writer, journalist, novelist, screenwriter, and playwright, who wrote 175 novels, 24 plays, and numerous articles in newspapers and journals....
(The Crime Club, Doubleday, Doran and Company, Garden City, New York, hardcover; dust jacket design) - 1932 Philippine by Maurice BedelMaurice BedelMaurice Bedel was a French novelist and essayist.He was awarded with the prix Goncourt in 1927 for Jérôme 60° latitude nord...
(E. P. Dutton and CompanyE. P. DuttonE. P. Dutton was an American book publishing company founded as a book retailer in Boston, Massachusetts in 1852 by Edward Payson Dutton. In 1986, the company was acquired by Penguin Group and split into two imprints: Dutton Penguin and Dutton Children's Books.-History:Edward Payson Dutton founded...
, New York, hardcover; dust jacket design) - 1937 Five Proud Riders by Ann Stafford
- 1938 The House at Cherry Hill by Mary H. Weik
- 1953 Paris Cuisine by James A. BeardJames BeardJames Andrew Beard was an American chef and food writer. The central figure in the story of the establishment of a gourmet American food identity, Beard was an eccentric personality who brought French cooking to the American middle and upper classes in the 1950s...
and Alexander Watt - 1953 Let's Talk About God by Dorothy K. Kripke
- 1955 Let's Talk About Right and Wrong by Dorothy K. Kripke
- 1957 Let's Talk About Judaism by Dorothy K. Kripke
- 1957 The March Wind by Inez Rice
- 1958 Sleepy Book by Charlotte ZolotowCharlotte ZolotowCharlotte Zolotow is an American author, poet, editor, and publisher of many books for children ....
- 1958 The Whiskers of Ho Ho by William Littlefield
- 1961 What Is Red? by Suzanne Gottlieb
- 1963 What the Moon Is Like by Franklyn M. Branley
- 1964 Boris and His Balalaika by Esphyr SlobodkinaEsphyr SlobodkinaEsphyr Slobodkina was a popular artist, author, and illustrator, best known for her classic 1940 children's book Caps for Sale.-Biography:...
- 1964 Icebergs by Roma Gans
- 1969 A Kiss Is Round by Blossom Budney
External links
- All seven Bobri covers for The New Yorker at Cartoonbank.com (search on keyword "Bobritsky"; they are mistakenly attributed to Victor Bobritsky)
- Vladimir Bobri – Creative Processes (largely reprinting the section of Forty Illustrators and How They Work), Guitarra Magazine, Issue 31 (March–April 1979), pp. 24–29
- Bobri illustrations for VogueVogue (magazine)Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...
, House and Garden and Vanity FairVanity Fair (magazine)Vanity Fair is a magazine of pop culture, fashion, and current affairs published by Condé Nast. The present Vanity Fair has been published since 1983 and there have been editions for four European countries as well as the U.S. edition. This revived the title which had ceased publication in 1935...
at the Condé NastCondé Nast PublicationsCondé Nast, a division of Advance Publications, is a magazine publisher. In the U.S., it produces 18 consumer magazines, including Architectural Digest, Bon Appétit, GQ, The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, and Vogue, as well as four business-to-business publications, 27 websites, and more than 50 apps...
Store (search on keywords "Bobritsky" and "Bobri")