Treasures into Tractors. It is an intriguing title. Find out more when the Australian Decorative and Fine Arts Society Rockhampton welcomes Dr Tom Flynn who begins his lecture tour of Australia on behalf of ADFAS with a visit to Rockhampton this Saturday, 6 May when he will deliver his richly illustrated presentation, ‘How Russia Sold Off much of its Cultural Heritage following the Revolution’ which will start at 10.30am at St Theresa’s Church, corner of Bolsover and Albert Streets.
Unlike the widely publicised looting of Jewish collections by the Nazis during the Second World War, the wholesale dispersal of Russia’s cultural heritage during the inter-war period is rarely discussed.
This lecture looks at the process by which the Russian Revolutionary authorities sold off vast quantities of their country’s valuable art treasures following the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 to raise valuable hard currency.
Sometimes referred to as the conversion of “Treasures into Tractors,” the process effectively confiscated and sold off the contents of Russia’s churches, libraries, monasteries, museums, and aristocratic private collections, thereby dispersing much of the country’s cultural treasures to the far corners of the world.
Dr Flynn lifts the lid on the extraordinary events that unfolded after the revolution.
Dr Tom Flynn is an art historian, writer, and art consultant. He holds a BA Honours degree (First Class) in Art History from the University of Sussex, a Masters in Design History from the Royal College of Art, and a doctorate from the University of Sussex.
A former Henry Moore Foundation post-doctoral research fellow at the University of Sussex, he has written for numerous international art publications and is the author of The Body in Sculpture.
His interests include contemporary art; sculpture history; museology and the history of museums; art crime; issues in cultural heritage; and the historical development and professional practice of the European art markets.
Dr Flynn is also the co-founder of ‘FlynnGiovani’ an art provenance research agency in the UK.
If you are interested in Russian art treasures, be they paintings or jewels or are more of a history buff, this is a wonderful opportunity to hear from an expert about this brief period between WWI and WWII when Russia’s rich cultural heritage was sold off to buyers across the globe.
All are welcome to attend, free for members and $25 for visitors which includes a scrumptious morning tea with Dr Tom Flynn.
For more information: www.adfas.org.au (Rockhampton page)/ ADFAS Rockhampton on Facebook or email ADFASSecretary@gmail.com .
