The image measures 27 ¼" x 18 ½", total size is 29 ¾" x 21". Judging by the artist's notations at the bottom corners marking the edges of the black board (that's what "черная доска" means), this was one of the tryout prints. The message of the imagery is clear, powerful, and a perfect expression of Novichenko's artistic outlook and philosophy. Working in the genre of Socialist Realism, he was among the first to turn upside down the old ideologically worn-out approach of the genre to the theme of labor heroes where Man dom

The image measures 27 ¼" x 18 ½", total size is 29 ¾" x 21". Judging by the artist's notations at the bottom corners marking the edges of the black board (that's what "черная доска" means), this was one of the tryout prints. The message of the imagery is clear, powerful, and a perfect expression of Novichenko's artistic outlook and philosophy. Working in the genre of Socialist Realism, he was among the first to turn upside down the old ideologically worn-out approach of the genre to the theme of labor heroes where Man dominated his tools of labor and the entire environment. Here we see an entirely different dynamic between man and his creation. If anything, man's dwellings are the least significant element, squeezed between the might of Industry and Nature and delegated to the lowest level of the depicted space.

As far as studies, sketches, and tryouts go, the lithograph is in excellent condition. All the creases, tears, stains and fingerprints are entirely contained to the margins, not reaching the imagery. In fact, they serve as an attractive visual testament to the lithograph's authenticity. The paper is thick and sturdy; the lithograph has been stored rolled up for a long time. As seen in the photos, it can be unrolled with due patience and care. However, it will be shipped rolled up, in a sturdy cardboard tube.

Valentin Novichenko (Валентин Алексеевич Новиченко, 1927-2010) was a well-known master of graphic arts from the Urals. He was born into a working-class family. His childhood impressions of industry and the construction of the Orsk Metallurgical Kombinat (group of factories) deeply affected his art.

He participated in the Patriotic War and then graduated from the Sverdlovsk School of Arts, which he attended from 1956 to 1961. In 1966 he became a member of the Trade Union of Artists of the USSR and a permanent participant of all-Union exhibitions. From 1953 to 1963 he worked as a decorator at the Uralkhimmash and Uralmash, both of which were gigantic powerhouses of Soviet industry that played an extremely important role in the development of the industrial might of the Soviet Union as well as its defense during the Great Patriotic War. They also played a major role in the development of the city of Yekaterinburg (then Sverdlovsk) and the entire Urals Region.

After the death of the artist in 2010, a number of his exhibitions opened in his native Urals and in Moscow, and well-known collectors are now trying to acquire his works. As is evident from his correspondence with colleagues that is now kept in a private collection, Novichenko had a difficult personality. He never tried to sell his works to collectors or earn favors from the bureaucrats managing arts; he also refused to sell his painting to the managing committees of exhibitions on their terms. He was a tireless innovator, always in search of new materials and techniques, and this consumed his entire life. His lithographs on metal or so-called "poly-etching graphics" that employed various techniques and metal cutting instruments invented by him, make his art truly unique and of enduring value.

Please note that the 1-ft. ruler in our photo is for size reference.
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