We, Russian artists of the Left Federation, ask American artists to help us disseminate our creative and practical work, giving us the opportunity to display our creative activity, which has been constrained due to the difficult situation in our motherland.

One of the greatest treasures in the University Library’s Catherine Cooke collection of Soviet architecture and design is a letter to “ARA”, presumed to be the American Relief Administration, printed with the stamp of Levaia Federatsiia (the Left Federation) and signed by 32 designers, artists, writers, and architects whose work still influences culture today.  The verso is shown, with some of the most famous names among the signatures. The Suprematist artist Kazimir Malevich is the penultimate signatory, followed by designer Vladimir Tatlin.  More work to understand the context of the letter and what reaction it had is underway.

My russkie khudozhniki Levoi Federatsii (1919-1922?)  CCA.54.1081