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Letters and postcards from David and Marusia Burliuk to art historian and collector Evgenii Dubnov, and Christmas cards the Burliuk family had received over the years from relatives and friends. There is also a photograph of David Burliuk, Marusia Burliuk, Marianna Burliuk-Fiala and Vaclav Fiala. Also included is a copy of Dubnov's essay about his correspondence with Burliuk.
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This collection has no restrictions.
Reproductions may be made for research purposes. The RBML maintains ownership of the physical material only. Copyright remains with the creator and his/her heirs. The responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); David Burliuk Papers; Box and Folder; Bakhmeteff Archive, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Columbia University.
2008.2009.M130: Source of acquisition--Dubnov, Eugene. Method of acquisition--purchase; Date of acquisition--2009.
Columbia University Libraries, Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Collection-level record describing unprocessed material made public in summer 2018 as part of the Hidden Collections initiative.
Collection processed October 2022 by Katia Shraga.
08/07/2020 Biographical note was written by Tanya Chebotarev and added to the record by Katia Shraga. Authorities and notes updated, ksd
David Burliuk (1882-1967), Ukrainian born poet and painter, renowned as the "father of Futurism" in his native Ukraine and in Russia.
He was born on July 21, 1882 near the city of Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine. He studied in Odesa and Kazan (1898-1902), at the Munich Royal Academy of Arts (1902-1903), and at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris (1904).
At first, Burliuk's art was an amalgam of Fauvist, Cubist, and Futurist influences, flavored with Ukrainian folk believes and Greek mythology.
He was an active participant in important avant-garde exhibitions in Kyiv, Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Munich. From December 1913 to April 1914, the notoriety of Burliuk's Futurists reached its peak as Burliuk, Vladimir Maiakovsky, and Vasily Kamensky toured 17 cities in the Empire. The appearance of the Futurists (they liked to wear gaudy waistcoats, sometimes painted animals on their faces, and wore carrots in their lapels) and their "performances" which included drinking tea on stage under a suspended piano, drew packed audiences, scandalized many, but also won converts to the new art.
During the revolutionary years 1917-1920, David Burliuk traveled to Siberia, where he gave Futurist concerts and sold his art. From 1920 to 1922 he spent time in Japan painting, organizing exhibitions, and promoting Futurism. In 1922, Burliuk arrived in the United States, settling first in New York City, where he lived from 1922 to 1941, and then in Hampton Bays, Long Island (1941-1967).
"The inspiration for Burliuk's later career is found in his love of vitality in all its forms — biological, psychological, and cultural. Whether he was painting his native Ukrainian steppe, Japanese landscapes, Long Island fishing villages, or the streets of New York, he searched for the energy that vibrated and flowed through scenes. They suggest the existence of hidden patterns just beyond human perception."
David Burliuk died on Long Island January 15, 1967. That same year he was honored posthumously by being inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
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