Alexey Brodovitch was born on April 30, 1894, in Ogolitchy, Russia, according to his naturalization records and World War II draft card. The same birth date is at the Social Security Death Index.
SELECTED INFORMATION FROM ANCESTRY, ABEBOOKS, EBAY AND NEWSPAPERS
1920s
Le Râmâyana Traduit du Sanscrit
Franz Toussaint
Briffaut, 1927
ornaments by Brodovitch
La Sultane de L’Amour
Franz Youssaint
Andre Delpeuch, 1927
frontispiece and illustrations by Brodovitch
Monsieur de Bougrelon
Jean Lorrain
Henri Jonquières, 1928
illustrated by Brodovitch
Nouvelles
Pouchkine
Editions de la Pléiade, 1928
ornaments by Brodovitch
A Brief History of Moscovia and Other Less-known Countries
Lying Eastward of Russia as Far as Cathay
John Milton
Blackamore Press, 1929
chapter heading by Brodovitch
Contes Fantastiques
Fedor Dostoievsky
Edition de la Pléiade, 1929
illustrated by Brodovitch
Arts et Metiers Graphiques
No. 11, 1929
illustration by Brodovitch
Arts et Metiers Graphiques
No. 14, 1929
cover by Brodovitch
1930
Arts et Metiers Graphiques
No. 18, 1930
illustrated Brodovitch article by Philippe Soupault
Aux Trois Quartiers
December 1930?
cover by Brodovitch
New York Passenger List
Names: Alexis Brodovitch, 36, commercial artist; Nina, 33, wife; Nikita, 6, son; Anna Dotzmanoff, 61, nurse
Languages Spoken: English, French, Russian
Port of Departure: Antwerp, Belgium
Departure Date: August 23, 1930
Port of Arrival: New York, New York
Arrival Date: August 31, 1930
Vessel: S.S. Lapland
Destination: John Jenks, Chestnut Hill at Seminal Avenue, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1931
Tenth Annual of Advertising Art 1931
Art Directors Club
work by Brodovitch
Themes Décoratifs Modernes dans L’affiche, le Reliure, et la Textile
Albert Morancé, 1931
poster design by Brodovitch
Advertising Arts
March 1931
supplement cover by Brodovitch
Philadelphia Inquirer
(Pennsylvania)
March 8, 1931
Activities of Week in Women’s Clubs
Thursday
Lantern and Lens Guild, informal talk and criticism of Guild Prints by Alexey Brodovitch, 8 P. M.
1932
Philadelphia Inquirer
March 13, 1932
Sketch Club’s ShowNew York Evening Post
Amid the generous array of excellent work in black and white now to be seen at the Sketch Club, in South Camac street, there is found evidence of an entirely new artistic enterprise, which should proceed to great heights, providing those who presume to have the welfare of our, souls as their guiding consideration do not indulge in further legal repressions. …
… The small modernist drawings by Alexey Brodovitch at once catch the eye with their striking patterns …
April 23, 1932
Advertising Art Exhibited TodayBrooklyn Daily Eagle
Art Directors Club Displays Work of Commercial Designers
Prizes Awarded to Eight
The Art Directors Club today opened its eleventh annual exhibition of advertising art at the Art Center, 6S Bast Fifty-sixth Street, where numerous examples of the work of commercial artists, including eight exhibits which have been awarded prizes in various classes, will remain on view until May 14. The exhibition will be open to the public daily except Sundays from 10 A. M. to S P. M. and on Thursdays until 9 P. M. …
… In the poster class the Art Directors bestowed a medal on Alexey Brodovitch for his poster for the Pennsylvania Museum or Art, while the Barron Collier medal was awarded to Fred Ludekins for his poster for the American Legion, handled by Campbell Ewald Company. …
(New York)
May 1, 1932
Art Directors and New York Water Color Club’ Annuals Reflect Artistic TrendsNew York Sun
Tomorrow’s Americana
Annual Exhibition of Advertising Art as Cross Section of Contemporary Taste Offers Suggestions to Astute Collector
… Sometimes this stylization of trend in the fine arts is carried too far in the effort to be ultra and so draw attention to itself and not to the thing it is selling. The cubistic and surealistic motives used in several instances in the present show result in bad advertising and an inept design. The jury of award I notice, held a different opinion, since they awarded a first medal to Alexey Brodovitch for his machine age design used to advertise the recent Industrial Arts Exhibition at the Pennsylvania Museum.
April 11, 1933
Art Medal AwardedEleventh Annual of Advertising Art
Advertising Illustrations Are on Display Here.
Seven bronze medals were awarded for work displayed in the exhibition of, advertising art, which opened today at the Art Center, 65 East Fifty-sixth street, under the auspices of the Art Directors Club. Six exhibitors received honorable mention.
In the group of paintings and drawings in color Carl Erickson received an award for a canvas and Alexey Brodovitch one for a drawing. Urban Weiss won honorable mention in this group.
In the display of poster, car card, magazine cover and book jacket Howard Trafton won a medal, while John Zwinakavitch and Mr. Brodovitch received honorable mention. …
Art Directors Club, 1932
work by Brodovitch
Indianapolis Times
(Indiana)
June 17, 1932
Designs for jackets of three books which Lippincott will publish in the early autumn have been made by Alexey Brodovitch, youthful Russian who is already famous as one of the leading poster artists of France. In 1925 at the Exhibition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs in Paris. Mr. Brodovitch won highest honors; the Grand Prix for textile design and embroidery, the Grand Prix for jewelry and silverware design, two silver medals and honors for architecture. The three jackets are for “High Low Washington” by 30 32; “The Perils and Fortune of the Duke of Osuna,” by Antonio Marichalar, and “Fuller’s Earth,” by Carolyn Wells.Fuller’s Earth
Carolyn Wells
J.B. Lippincott Company, 1932
dust jacket by Brodovitch
High Low Washington
30 • 32
J. B. Lippincott Company, 1932
dust jacket by Brodovitch
The Perils and Fortune of the Duke of Osuna
Antonio Marichalar
J. B. Lippincott Company, 1932
dust jacket by Brodovitch
1933
Advertising Arts
July 1933
poster by Brodovitch, “The House of the Future”
New York Passenger List
Names: Alexey Brodovitch, 39, professor; Nina, 37, wife; Nikita, 9, son
Port of Departure: Le Havre, France
Departure Date: September 13, 1933
Port of Arrival: New York, New York
Arrival Date: September 19, 1933
Vessel: S.S. Ile de France
Previous U.S. Residence: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, September 2, 1930 to July 28, 1933
Destination: 266 South Van Pelt Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia Inquirer
September 24, 1933
Pennsylvania Museum School of Industrial Art advertisement
Advertising Design
Mr. Alexey Brodovitch, whose work in advertising design has been highly praised by disinterested critics, will give personal assistance to every student in this course.
1934
New York Sun
April 12, 1934
Advertising NewsThirteenth Annual of Advertising Art
Advertising Art Exhibition.
Most beautiful and most popular girls and men and prettiest baby and best looking child, among models whose faces and figures adorn American advertising art, will receive laurel wreaths at the opening of the Annual Exhibition of Advertising Art Friday night.
The exhibition of several hundred paintings, drawings and photographs executed between January 1, 1933. and March 1, 1934, will be open and free to the public on the thirty-fourth floor of RCA building, Rockefeller Center, from Saturday until May 12.
To Crown Models.
Winning models are being determined by the exhibition committee of the Art Directors Club, exhibition sponsor: Charles T. Coiner, N. W. Aver & Son chairman; William T. Fink, Newell-Emmett Company, vice- hairman; Elwood Whitney, J. Walter Thompson Company; Claude H. Muller, McCann-Erickson, Inc.; Gene Davis, Young & Rubicam; Thomas Erwin; Dr. M. F. Agha, Conde Nast Publications, and Alexey Brodovitch, painter. Gordon A. Meyer, president of the club, will present the laurels tomorrow night. All winners and runners-up, save the babies, will be
present.
Casting off superstition, the club, organized thirteen years ago, is starting its thirteenth exhibition on Friday the 13th.
Art Directors Club, 1934
work by Brodovitch
Advertising Arts
May 1934
Prize Winners at 13th Annual Art Directors Exhibition includes: Alexey Brodovitch, Ludwig Bemelmans, John Funk, John Atherton, Boris Artzybasheff, Miguel Covarrubias, Robert Fawcett, Victor Keppler and others.Philadelphia Inquirer
July 8, 1934
Local Artists Show Oils and Water ColorsNew York Passenger List
For a showing through July the Boyer Galleries, Pennsylvania boulevard, have assembled a group of oils and water colors by contemporary Philadelphia artists. Max Bernd-Cohen is represented by one of his strong studies, “Apple Trees”, and Edward Biberman by his exotic and decorative “The Wave”. “Negro Wreckers”, by George Biddle, and “Still Life Interior”, by Hugh Breckenridge, are excellent examples of the work of these modern masters, and Alexey Brodovitch contributes a highly symbolic “Industrial Landscape”. …
Names: Alexey Brodovitch, 40, professor; Nina, 38, housewife; Nikita, 9, son
Port of Departure: Cherbourg, France
Departure Date: August 25, 1934
Port of Arrival: New York, New York
Arrival Date: August 31, 1934
Vessel: S.S. Berengaria
Previous U.S. Residence: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, August 25, 1930 to July 1934
Destination: 266 South Van Pelt Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia Inquirer
August 30, 1934
Pennsylvania Museum School of Industrial Art advertisement
Art in Industry
Faculty distinguished as winners of national and international awards and as experienced teachers of proven merit, are, in addition, active practitioners in their respective fields and know intimately present application of art to industrial problems and its probable future trends; such as Alexey Brodovitch, J. Frank Copeland, Mabel B. Hall, Earl Horter, Oscar Mertz, Thornton Oakley, Hilda L. Orth, Henry Pitz, Althea Lilian Rickert, Gertrude Schell, Mary B. Sweeney, Franklin C. Watkins.
1935
Fourteenth Annual of Advertising Art
Art Directors Club, 1935
work by Brodovitch
Brooklyn Daily Eagle
April 10, 1935
Advertising Art Will Hold Annual Exhibit at Macy’s3 Poems
Announcement of eight juries of award for the Fourteenth Annual Exhibition of Advertising Art, sponsored by the Art Directors Club, and tone held in the Seventh Avenue Gallery at R.H. Macy & Co., April 19 to May 11, was made yesterday by William E. Fink, chairman of the exhibition committee. Mr. Fink’s committee includes Alexey Brodovitch, vie chairman; Elwood Whitney, Gene Davis, Byron Musser, Loren Stone, Walter Van Leyen, Leslie Beaton, A. Halpert and Egmont H. Arens. Rise Heyman is the exhibition secretary. …
Tom Maloney
William Morrow & Company, 1935
illustrated by Brodovitch
New York Passenger List
Name: Alexey Brodovitch, 41, professor
Port of Departure: Cherbourg, France
Departure Date: June 19, 1935
Port of Arrival: New York, New York
Arrival Date: June 25, 1935
Vessel: S.S. Aquitania
Previous U.S. Residence: 1930 to 1935
Destination: 239 East 72nd Street, New York, New York
1936
Fifteenth Annual of Advertising Art
Art Directors Club, 1936
work by Brodovitch
U.S. Camera 1936
T.J. Maloney
William Morrow & Company, 1936
cover design by Brodovitch
Philadelphia Inquirer
May 3, 1936
Thirteen new creations in oil, water color, sculpture and drawing have just been added to the semi-permanent exhibition in the Gimbel Galleries of Contemporary Art. As is customary, the works areNew York Passenger List
all by those who live in, or near, Philadelphia. The oils comprise Walter Reinsel’s “By the Sea;” Alexey Brodovitch’s distinctive still-life of a framed picture, within its own frame; Charles Williams’s “Night Club Brawl,” a conglomerate of figures at a somewhat vulgar merrymaking; Abraham Rattner’s quaint “Shop Window;” Phillip Jenney’s study of suicide by gas, known as “Solitude;” Lucius Crowell’s “Nude,” with its charming half- gold, half-red background, and Leon Karp’s “Homework.” …
Names: Alexey Brodovitch, 42, professor; Nina, 40, housewife; Nikita, 11, student
Port of Departure: Cherbourg, France
Departure Date: June 24, 1936
Port of Arrival: New York, New York
Arrival Date: June 30, 1936
Vessel: S.S. Berengaria
Previous U.S. Residence: 1930 to 1936
Destination: 239 East 72nd Street, New York, New York
New York Sun
October 3, 1936
‘New Sources of Fine Art’
Private Work of Commercial Artists at Seligmann’s.
Feeling that the American commercial artist has not had his due and has been too often brushed aside as a mere clever artisan without a touch of the creative faculty, the management of the Jacques Seligmann Gallery, 3 East Fifty-first street, has got together an exhibition of the work of a number of graphic artists that will likely prove something of a surprise to many.
The exhibition was planned by a committee which included Dr. M. A. Agha, Gordon Aymer, Rene Clarke, Robert M. Levy, Leon Loeb, Joseph Platt, George Sakier and Elwood Whitney. The work chosen is that done by the artists on their own, when they were concerned only with self-expression and not hampered by the ideas of clients or other outside considerations. Thus revealed, the score of artists represented prove decidedly “advanced.” … Several of the exhibitors appear to have leaned rather heavily on European models. Alexey Brodovitch seems to have borrowed some of Miro’s properties for his “Purple Haze,” …
1937
Daily Worker
(New York)
March 18, 1937
Show Best Posters In A.S.U.ContestNew York Passenger List
A public exhibit of the designs entered in the Bill of Rights Poster Contest, sponsored by the American Civil Liberties Union, is being held at the New School for Social Research. It will continue until Friday.
The contest for a poster illustrating the significance of the Bill of Rights commemorates the 150th anniversary of the drafting of the Constitution. More than fifty striking designs have been entered by artists from various parts of the country. Winning posters will be reproduced by the American Civil Liberties Union for use in schools, forums, meetings and educational work.
Judges in the contest are John Sloan, Rollin Kirby, Peggy Bacon, Arthur Frank, Walter Pach, Alexey Brodovitch and Leslie Gill. In addition to one vote for each of the judges, two votes will be credited to the preference of the public visiting the exhibit. The exhibition room will be open from 10 A. M. to 10 P. M.
In announcing the competition, which closes on March 15, the Union declared: “Whatever political differences exist about the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, as finally written into it, assumes daily greater importance. The preservation of civil rights in a world threatened by growing dictatorships is inseparable from the survival of democracy itself.”
Names: Alexey Brodovitch, 43, art director; Nina, 41, housewife; Nikita, 12, student
Port of Departure: Cherbourg, France
Departure Date: June 8, 1937
Port of Arrival: New York, New York
Arrival Date: June 15, 1937
Vessel: S.S. Berengaria
Previous U.S. Residence: 1930 to 1937
Destination: 239 East 72nd Street, New York, New York
1938
Fashion Is Spinach
Elizabeth Hawes
Random House, 1938
illustrated by Brodovitch
New York Passenger List
Names: Alexey Brodovitch, 44, director/professor; Nina, 42, housewife; Nikita, 13, student
Port of Departure: Cherbourg, France
Departure Date: June 15, 1938
Port of Arrival: New York, New York
Arrival Date: June 20, 1938
Vessel: S.S. Queen Mary
Previous U.S. Residence: 1930 to 1938
Destination: 239 East 72nd Street, New York, New York
Circular of the Art Department 1938–1939
Philadelphia Museum School of Industrial Art
Brodovitch’s ten talks on “Evolution in Industrial Arts”
1939
New York Passenger List
Names: Alexey Brodovitch, 45, professor advertising; Nina, 43, housewife; Nikita, 14, student
Port of Departure: Cherbourg, France
Departure Date: July 8, 1939
Port of Arrival: New York, New York
Arrival Date: July 14, 1939
Vessel: S.S. Aquitania
Previous U.S. Residence: 1930 to 1939
Destination: 304 East 66th Street, New York, New York
New York Sun
July 17, 1939
Cooper Union Names Art Advisers
Eight new members have been appointed to the advisory council of the Arts Schools of Cooper Union, Guy Gaylor Clark, art director of the union, announced today. They will aid in developing an educational policy which meets the needs of working artists.
The eight are Gilford Baal, painter; Donald M. Oenslager, associate professor in the department of drama of Yale University; Georg John Lober, sculptor and director of the department of sculpture of the Grand Central School of Arts; Nathaniel J. Pousette-Dart, art editor; Frederick J. Kiesler, associate in architecture at Columbia University; Alexey Brodovitch, art editor of the Hearst publications; Lurelle V. A. Guild, industrial designer, and Mrs. Philip J. Roosevelt.
1940
United States Federal Census
Address: 304 East 66th Street, New York, New York
Name / Age / Occupation
Alexey Brodovitch, 44, art director (magazine)
Nina Brodovitch, 42, housewife
Nikita Brodovitch, 15
1941
Nineteenth Annual of Advertising Art
Longmans Green & Company, 1941
work by Brodovitch
1942
World War II Draft Card
Name: Alexey Brodovitch
Residence Place: New York, New York
Address: 58 West 57th Street
Employer: Harper’s Bazar
Signature: April 27, 1942
Manhattan, New York, City Directory
Name: Alexey Brodovitch
Street address: 14 E 62 REgent 7-3526
1943
Manhattan, New York, City Directory
Name: Alexey Brodovitch
Street address: 14 E 62 REgent 7-3526
1944
Manhattan, New York, City Directory
Name: Alexey Brodovitch
Street address: 14 E 62 REgent 7-3526
1945
Manhattan, New York, City Directory
Name: Alexey Brodovitch
Street address: 14 E 62 REgent 7-3526
Ballet
Alexey Brodovitch
J.J. Augustin, 1945
Day of Paris
Andre Kertesz
J.J. Augustin, 1945
dust jacket design by Brodovitch
Egypt
George Hoyningen-Huene
Text by George Steindorff
J.J. Augustin, 1945
dust design by Brodovitch
Popular Photography
September 1945
five-page article on the Brodovitch book, Ballet
1946
Manhattan, New York, City Directory
Name: Alexey Brodovitch
Street address: 315 E 57 PLaza 9-6908
Hellas: A Tribute to Classical Greece
George Hoyningen-Huene, George Davis and Hugh Chisholm
J.J. Augustin Publishers, 1946
dust jacket by Brodovitch
Interiors
August 1946
Alexey Brodovitch vs. Bernard Rudofsky
1947
Paris
Fritz Henle, Elliot Paul and Alexey Brodovitch
Ziff Davis Publishing, 1947
book design by Brodovitch
Twenty-Sixth Annual of Advertising and Editorial Art
Watson-Guptill, 1947
work by Brodovitch
1949
Manhattan, New York, City Directory
Name: Alexey Brodovitch
Street address: 315 E 57 PLaza 9-6908
1950
Portfolio
#1, 1950
Portfolio
#2, 1950
1951
30th Annual of Advertising and Editorial ArtNew York Art Directors Club, 1951
248, 249, 251, 311 by Brodovitch
Nudes by Munkacsi
Martin Munkacsi
Greenberg, 1951
dust jacket design by Brodovitch
Portfolio
#3, 1951
1952
New York Post
February 7, 1952
New School Plans Six Photo CoursesNew York Post
The New School for Social Research, 66 W. 12th St„ will sponsor six photography courses by well-known authorities for the spring term beginning the first week in February. …
… Alexey Brodovitch offers a 12-week workshop meeting Wednesdays at the Radkai Studio, 139 E. 69th St. This is concerned with photo-reportage, photo-story, fashion photography, photo illustration, experimental photography. …
March 23, 1952
PhotographyBrooklyn Daily Eagle
Thursday: Village Camera Club, 65 Bank St., 8:30 p.m. Lecture on photojournalism by Alexey Brodovitch, who has had no experience in this field, he being art director of the lifted-pinkie monthly, Harpers Bazaar. To the general public this may
seem strange, but most photographers have become reconciled to the fact that on the camera club circuit it is not at all uncommon for a speaker to choose the subject about which he knows least.
March 26, 1952
Camera Clubs
The Village Camera Club, 65 Bank St., Manhattan, will gave Mabel Scacheri judge its black-and-white competition at its meeting Tuesday evening. Tomorrow night, Alexey Brodovitch will hold an informal discussion on “Photo Journalism.” Guests are invited to both meetings.
1953
Manhattan, New York, City Directory
Name: Alexey Brodovitch
Street address: 315 E 57 PLaza 9-6908
1954
Annual of Advertising and Editorial Art and Design 33
Farrar, Straus & Young/Art Directors Club, 1954
work by Brodovitch
C Editorial Art: 10, 12, 13, 14, 25, 36, 45, 46, 48
E Editorial Design: 23, 27, 30, 31
1955
The Complete Airbrush Book
William Penn Publishing Corp., 1955
art by Brodovitch
Sun and Shadow: The Philosophy of an Architect
Marcel Breuer
Dodd, Mead & Company, New York, 1955
cover and book design by Brodovitch
Philadelphia Inquirer
August 10, 1955
Real Estate NewsNew York Post
Sale of “Bryn Coed Farm,” home of the late Justice Owen J. Roberts in Kimberton, Chester county, was announced yesterday by J. M. Fronefield, Wayne realtor.
Purchasers were Mr. and Mrs. Edward Law, of “Brookmeade Farm,” Devon, who recently sold their 170-acre farm adjoining Valley Forge Park for a residential development. They also purchased the 113-acre Alexey Brodovitch property adjoining “Bryn Coed.” …
September 8, 1955
New School Offering 3 Photography Courses
Workshop courses in photography by Alexey Brodovitch, Bernice Abbott and Joseph Breitenbach start at the New School for Social Research, 66 W. 12th St., on Sept. 27. Registration now open.
Mr. Brodovitch will cover photo-reportage, picture stories, photo-illustration, fashion photography, still life, experimental photography, and photo-editing on 15 Wednesday evenings. …
1958
37th Annual of Advertising and Editorial Art and Design
Farrar, Straus & Cudahy, 1958
383, 384, 385, 386, 389, 392, 401 by Brodovitch
1959
Manhattan, New York, City Directory
Name: Alexey Brodovitch
Street address: 315 E 57 PLaza 9-6908
Observations
Richard Avedon, Truman Capote
Simon & Schuster, 1959
book design by Brodovitch
1960
Art in America
No. 3, 1960
The Precisionists
Saloon Society: The Diary of a Year Beyond Aspirin
William H. Manville
Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1960
book design by Brodovitch
1961
Sag Harbor Express
(New York)
March 9, 1961
Alexey Brodovitch to P Matthiessen, pcl s s Bridge Lane, Sagaponack, $35,000.East Hampton Star
(New York)
April 13, 1961
Sag HarborAmerican Artist
The Alexey Brodovitch property on Bridge Lane in Sagaponack has been sold to Peter Matthiessen of Amagansett.
December 1961
“Remarkable Alexey Brodovitch” by Eugene M Ettenberg
1962
The World of Carmel Snow
Carmel Snow with Mary Louise Aswell
McGraw-Hill, 1962
designed by Brodovitch
1964
The Doctor and the Devils
Dylan Thomas
Time, Inc., 1964
wraparound cover art by Brodovitch
1971
Social Security Death Index
Name: Alexey Brodovitch
Birth Date: April 30, 1894
Issue year: Before 1951
Issue State: New York
Last Residence: Europe
Death Date: April 1971
1972
Alexey Brodovitch and His Influence
Philadelphia College of Art, 1972
51st Annual of Advertising, Editorial and Television Art and Design
Watson-Guptill/Art Directors Club, 1972
Brodovitch profile
1989
Brodovitch
Andy Grundberg
Harry N. Abrams, 1989
Astonish Me!
A Symposium:
The Impact of Alexey Brodovitch
November 6, 1989
Fashion Institute of Technology
New York City
2002
Alexey Brodovitch
Kerry William Purcell
Phaidon, 2002
FURTHER READING
AIGA
Art Directors Club
Art Institute of Chicago: Irving Penn Archives
Bazaar: Alexey Brodovitch: 1934-1958
Design Is History
Famous Graphic Designers
Find a Grave
Modernism 101
MoMA
The New York Times, April 24, 1971
National Gallery of Art
Philadelphia Museum of Art
Wikipedia
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