The World of Art by Nadezhda Dobychina!

Nadezhda Dobychina (1884–1950) — gallerist, curator, museum worker, collector. Dobychina played an important role in the cultural environment of pre-revolutionary and Soviet Russia, continuing her activities during periods of wars and revolutions, embodying the "connecting thread of days," which is... so important for understanding the art history of the first half of the 20th century. 

Many of her contemporaries spoke ill of her, accusing her of mercenariness and attributing numerous love affairs to her; she was consulted by Alexander Benois and Maxime Gorky, Nikolai Roerich and Igor Grabar, Sergei Prokofiev and Vyacheslav Karatygin. Thanks to materials from Dobychina's archive, the author of the book, art historian Olga Muromtseva, reconstructed the chronicle of the gallerist's life and lesser-known events in the artistic life of Russia in the 20th century. The book publishes fragments of diaries, letters, and memories of Dobychina about Nikolai Kulbin, Alexander Benois, Igor Grabar, and reflections on the masters of socialist realism for the first time. The edition is illustrated with works by artists presented at exhibitions by Dobychina and included in her collection, archival photographs, and portraits of contemporaries.