10 most FAMOUS book illustrations by Soviet artist May Miturich (PICS)
Soviet children all grew up on books whose characters were drawn by this talented artist.
May Miturich-Khlebnikov was born in Moscow in 1925. His parents were artists (his mother Vera Khlebnikova was the sister of Silver Age poet Velimir Khlebnikov). At the age of 17, May went to the front line of World War II and survived through the entire war, culminating in reaching Berlin. And, already there, he became a member of an artistic brigade.
After the war, Miturich graduated from the Moscow Polygraphic Institute and became a professional artist. Now, his works are kept in Russia’s main art museums, such as the Tretyakov Gallery, the State Russian Museum, the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts and others. Meanwhile, a large mural made by the artist decorates the Paleontological Museum in Moscow.
In 2005, Miturich was awarded the Japanese ‘Order of the Rising Sun’ for a series of illustrations to Japanese folk tales. He was also a refined graphic artist and author of lyrical landscapes and portraits.
But, most of all, Miturich is known as the author of illustrations for children's books: ‘Mowgli’ by Rudyard Kipling, ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’ by Lewis Carroll, fairy tales by Soviet poets Kornei Chukovsky and Samuel Marshak and many other famous books were remembered by young Soviet readers through the prism of Miturich's creative imagination. We’ve compiled some of the best of them below.
1. Illustration for Kornei Chukovsky’s ‘The Clatter Fly’, 1986.
2. The Doom of Sher Khan, 1972 (Illustration for Rudyard Kipling's ‘Mowgli’ Soviet edition).
3. The departure of Telemachus and Pisistratus from Pylos, 1978-1981 (Illustration for Homer's poem ‘The Odyssey’).
4. Illustration for Lewis Carroll’s ‘Alice's Adventures in Wonderland’, 1977.
5. Illustration for Sergei Aksakov's fairy tale ‘The Scarlet Flower’, 1986
6. Illustration for the ‘Barmaley’ fairy tale by Kornei Chukovsky, 1969
7. Illustration for Samuil Marshak's ‘The Golden Wheel’ collection, 1976
8. Illustration for the children poems collection by Agnia Barto, 1986
9. Illustration for ‘The Giant Cockroach’ poem by Kornei Chukovsky, 1970
10. March of Penguins. Illustration for Gennady Snegirev's book ‘About Penguins’, 1963
On the 100th anniversary of the artist's birth, the ‘Mai Miturich. Toward the Cape of Joy’ exhibition will be on display from May 30 to October 12, 2025 at the New Tretyakov Gallery on Krymsky Val.
