Handwerker Gallery

Darker Shades of Red: Official Soviet Propaganda from the Cold War
October 23-December 14, 2008

This exhibit provides an opportunity to revisit the Cold War era through an exploration of the Soviet Union’s official imagery. Strikingly graphic in its socialist imagery, the collection reveals the economic, social and political ideology of the Soviet Union from the 1940s to 1991.

Drawing a wide variety of native Russian sources, the posters, banners, children’s books, sculpture, pins and other objects in this collection reinforce Communist beliefs and offer an unique snapshot of life in a totalitarian society.

The work on display is drawn from the private collection of Gary Hollingsworth, a Florida-based art restorer who traveled extensively in the former Soviet Union.

This exhibition is cosponsored by the Department of History and the Department of Art History.