For nearly five decades, Dmitri Baltermants (1912-1990) took photographs of everything from official parades to wars to everyday life inside the Soviet Union. For many of those years, he was an official photographer for the Kremlin.
During World War II, he covered the battle of Stalingrad and the battles of the Red Army in Russian and Ukraine. All of his works were filtered through official government channels, with many photographs not being seen publicly until years after they were taken.
He also worked for the Soviet government newspaper Izvestia and was picture editor for the magazine Ogonyok.
One of his most famous images, called "Grief," depicts a 1942 massacre of Jews in the city of Kerch. It is one of 20 images in a collection titled "Faces of a Nation: The Rise and Fall of the Soviet Union" that the L.P. Cline Gallery on Broad Street is showcasing through March 3.
Gallery owner Lynn Cline says Baltermants' daughter, Tatyana, had 20 images from her father's collection printed using the gelatin silver process and auctioned 25 portfolios in the mid-'90s. Cline purchased the one he now has on display.
If you go
› What: “Faces of a Nation: The Rise and Fall of the Soviet Union.”› When: Through March 3› Where: L.P. Cline Gallery, 508 Broad St.› Hours: 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday.› Admission: Free
"There were 25 sets made, and we managed to get No. 15 at an auction," Cline says. "We've never shown them, but now just seemed like a good time."
Cline specializes in Russian art, traveling to the area on buying trips two or three times a year. Some of the winning bidders of the portfolios have sold off individual photos over the years for tens of thousands of dollars, he says.
Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354.