As I See: The Fantastic World of Boris Artzybasheff

"Boris Artzybasheff was born in Kharkov, Russia, in 1899. In 1918, after receiving an education in Sr. Petersburg, he became a machine gunner in the White Army. Upon its defeat he worked his way to the Black Sea and escaped Russia as a seaman on a boat that eventually landed him in New York in the summer of 1919." "For a number of years, Artzybasheff struggled in the traditional manner of young artists until he began, mostly through book illustration, to gain a reputation. Among his best-known books are The Circus of Dr. Lao, Balzac's Droll Stories, Nansen, and his own adaptation of Aesop's Fables. He won the Newbery Medal in 1928 with Gopal Mukerji for Gay-Neck. He then became widely recognized for his interpretive portraiture on Time covers and for his tellingly personalized paintings of the machines of war and industry; he illustrated over two hundred covers for the magazine from the mid-1930s until his death in 1965." "First published in 1954, As I See teems with ironic imagery that documents our cultures vanity, aggression, dreams, and neuroses with biting wit and wisdom. Boris Artzybasheff's striking graphic style - which includes everything from grotesque experiments in anthropomorphism to the depiction of vivid and extreme ranges of human psychology and emotion - is displayed to full effect in this seminal collection of his work."--BOOK JACKET.

Boris Artzybasheff (1899-1965) was a Russian-born American artist noted for his surreal designs. During his lifetime he illustrated everything from children’s books to national magazine covers, and he continues to be admired for his versatility as well as his striking and unique artistic vision.