Joseph Stalin (1879-1953) in the Kremlin
Artist
James Abbe
(American, 1883-1975)
CultureAmerican
DateApril 13, 1932
MediumGelatin silver print
DimensionsOverall, Image: 9 5/8 × 7 1/2 in. (24.4 × 19.1 cm)
Overall, Support: 14 15/16 × 12 in. (37.9 × 30.5 cm)
Overall, Mat: 20 1/8 × 16 1/8 in. (51.1 × 41 cm)
Overall, Support: 14 15/16 × 12 in. (37.9 × 30.5 cm)
Overall, Mat: 20 1/8 × 16 1/8 in. (51.1 × 41 cm)
Credit LineGift of Tilly Abbe for the Abbe Family
Object number2004.1
Not on view
DescriptionThis is a gelatin silver print of Joseph Stalin sitting in a room in the Kremlin, Moscow, Russia.Label TextJames E. Abbe American (1883-1973) Joseph Stalin (1879-1953) in the Kremlin, Moscow, April 13, 1932 Gelatin-silver print Gift of Tilly Abbe for the Abbe Family 2004.1 During the 1920s and 1930s, James Abbe was among the best-known and most widely published photographers on the international scene. He photographed the most renowned theater and film celebrities, as well as the dictators of Europe. During his prime years, his reputation was such that Vanity Fair magazine nominated him to their "hall of fame" in February 1934. Working under the moniker "the tramp photographer," Abbe paved the way for today's freelance photojournalists by earning his living on the road making photographs, writing accompanying stories, and selling them to magazines and newspapers throughout the world. Based in Paris, Abbe traveled throughout Europe working for various magazines and newspapers such as the Berliner Illustrirte Zeitung in Germany, and VU in France. Traveling to Russia in 1928, and again in 1932, Abbe published a book of text and photographs entitled I Photograph Russia in 1935. Photographing Stalin was undoubtedly Abbe's biggest scoop, and the pictures were published in the newspapers and magazines of many countries. Edited By: GLY Edited Date: 09/2004 Approved By: MHM Approval Date: 09/21/2005Exhibition History"Photography Speaks," Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Va., Alice R. and Sol B. Frank Photo Galleries, September 4, 2004 - January 2, 2005. Published ReferencesHelen Rappaport, "Stalin and the Photographer," _History Today_ 51 (June 2001), 12-19. Brooks Johnson, _Photography Speaks: 150 Photographers on Their Art_ (New York: Aperture Foundation, 2004), 152-153. Jeff Harrison, _Collecting with Vision: Treasures From the Chrysler Museum of Art_ (London: D. Giles Ltd., 2007), 112, fig. 134. ISBN: 978-0-940744-72-1 Athanasius D. McVay & Lubomyr Y. Luciuk, "The Holy See and the Holodomor: Documents from teh Vatican Secret Archives on the Great Famine of 1932-1933 in Soviet Ukraine," 2011, p. xxxiii, ISBN 978-1-896354-37-8
