i was very much impressed by the visual impact of the revolution. all the great marches through the nevsky prospect [in st. petersburg, russia] with red banners, gigantic red banners.
—alexander liberman on his earliest childhood memories in an interview with the bomb magazine.
Orb XIV painting by Alexander Liberman, 1967. Oil on canvas, 60 × 45 inches. © Alexander Liberman Estate. Courtesy of Vallarino Fine Art.
Abstraction V painting by Alexander Liberman, 1964. Lithograph on paper. Smithsonian American Art Museum, museum purchase.
Untitled painting by Alexander Liberman, 1966. Color lithograph on paper. Smithsonian American Art Museum, museum purchase.
Alexander Liberman was born in 1912 in Kiev into the family of rich timber merchant Simon Liberman and theatrical actress Henrietta Pascar. After the Bolshevik Revolution, Simon took a post of economic advisor at the Soviet government and sent his son to an English boarding school. “If you can survive that, you can conquer anything,” Alexander would recall of this period. Then he moved to Paris to study mathematics, architecture, philosophy, and painting.
Equipoise by Alexander Liberman, 1967. Steel. Smithsonian American Art Museum, gift of the artist.
Abstraction V painting by Alexander Liberman, 1964. Lithograph on paper. Smithsonian American Art Museum, museum purchase.
Untitled painting by Alexander Liberman, 1966. Color lithograph on paper. Smithsonian American Art Museum, museum purchase.
all art is solitary and the studio is a torture area. —alexander liberman
Alexander Liberman stands in his studio with a recent work of welded and painted steel. Photo via Getty Images.
Liberman’s early work life in France was diverse: he designed stage sets, briefly worked as an illustrator, and assisted to poster designer Cassandre. Aged eighteen, Alexander started his publishing career with VU, one of the world’s first illustrated periodicals. There he collaborated with renowned photographers, including Brassaï, Man Ray, and Robert Capa. Eventually, Alexander rose to managing director at Vu, but left it in 1936.
VU magazine cover, March 1933. The cover features End of Civilization photomontage by Marcel Ichac under the art direction of Alexander Liberman.
A spread of Vu magazine, featuring Drunkenness of Movement photo essay.
Vu magazine cover, September 1933.
Vu magazine cover, December 1934.
Vu magazine cover, July 1930.
i think the term “art director” is the greatest misnomer. there’s no art in magazines unless you are reproducing works of art. —alexander liberman
Vogue Magazine Staff standing at Vogue Office at Place du Palais-Bourbon, Paris, 1950. From left to right: Alexander Liberman, Nina LeClerc, Michel DeBrunhof, Edna Woolman Chase, Iva Patcevitch, Thomas Kernan, Despina Messinesi, Peggy Riley. Photo by Donald Honeyman / Condé Nast via Getty Images.
With the outbreak of World War II, Liberman fled to the United States together with his future wife, Tatiana Yacovleff Du Plessix. Always well-connected, he soon took the post of art director at Vogue, reshaping the look and layout of every publication he touched. Twenty years later Alexander reached the role of Editorial Director at Condé Nast Publications, where he stayed for another thirty-two years. During that period, he was responsible for the look, style and content of Vogue, Mademoiselle, Glamour, Bride's and House & Garden—five of the most popular women's magazines in the US, with a total readership of more than five million.
Vogue magazine cover, November 1944.
Vogue magazine cover, December 1950. © Condé Nast.
Vogue magazine cover, January 1950. The cover features a close-up of Jean Patchett's eye, red lips, and beauty mark. © Condé Nast.
Vogue magazine cover, July 1946. Cover photograph by Cecil Beaton. © Condé Nast.
Vogue cover, June 1950. Cover photograph by Irving Penn. © Condé Nast.