This special set of two hardback books is a product of ten years work by two renowned Russian scholars and has been printed on a limited run. It is a fully comprehensive look at Malevich’s work and private life and included are many documents published for the first time.

These unique volumes explore the complex personal life and creativity of Kazimir Malevich (1879–1935), the illustrious pioneer of modern abstract art. They are a compilation of primary sources relating to his life, and include the artist’s autobiographies, almost 300 of his letters to various correspondents, official documents, letters, memoirs of contemporaries – relatives, disciples, and friends, as well as artistic and official opponents – and critical responses to his work. The books are illustrated with over 400 photographs, many rare, depicting Malevich, his family, friends, and colleagues. Most of these documents are published here in English for the first time.

Many of Malevich’s visions, passionate feelings, and profound thoughts, as well as his day-to-day concerns, are disclosed in these volumes. The books reveal Malevich’s processes of innovation and unflagging creativity during one of the most turbulent periods of Russian history. Through necessity his career was flexible and peripatetic: he assumed various official positions, arranged exhibitions and marketed his own work, and devised curricula for students in Moscow, Vitebsk, and Petrograd. This publication is an indispensable resource for all future research on Malevich, and will inspire artists, architects, and designers, as well as anyone studying modern art.