Pernikov, Efim Ivanovich

Efim Ivanovich Pernikov is closely associated with the art of constructivism in Imperial Russia and in the early Soviet era. He graduated from a technical school in the early 1920s and went on to graduate in 1930 from VKhUTEIN (Higher State Artistic and Technical Institute) in Moscow where he was enrolled in the printing department. Pernikov worked in advertising and in that field he began his career in poster design. In addition, he worked at the Moscow Museum of the Revolution, and starting in 1929, he was the head of the art department for a newspaper and magazine association in Moscow. Pernikov’s first, steady design work came from his position with the State Publishing House of the USSR where he created cover art for magazines such as “Pioneer” and “Behind the Wheel”. In addition, he designed children's books such as: “Big Game” and “Eighteen Cities” (both 1931), and “How a machine plays with cubes" (1963). Efim Pernikov participated in the design of the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition (VSKhV) in Moscow. His artwork was exhibited in international exhibitions from 1938 to 1941.

During World War II, Efim Pernikov served as a combat correspondent while also being engaged in the design of military leaflets and posters. During his service period he was wounded. After the war, he worked in various Moscow publishing houses where he designed books, catalogs, and monograph albums. His book illustrations include the works of Mikhail Koltsov, Alexei Tolstoi, Alexei Garri and Lev Kassil, and the book “Icy Nights” (1934), an account of the rescue of the Arctic icebreaker Malygin that ran aground near Norway.

Pernikov designed the following poster titles during the 1930s: “Friendship between the peoples of the USSR is growing and strengthening. —J.V. Stalin”; “Soviet peasantry votes for Bolshevik collective farms for a prosperous life in the elections to the Supreme Soviet of the USSR” (with artist Vladimir Gruntal’); “Defense of the fatherland is the sacred duty of every citizen of the USSR”; “Stalin’s Constitution ensures the right to a happy old age. Article 120”; “Stalin’s Constitution ensures the right of workers to rest. Article No. 6”; and “From rocket to jet plane” (1948), “What is radar” (1948), “Russians discovered Antarctica. 1819–1821” (1949). Efim Ivanovich Pernikov was a member of the Union of Artists of the USSR.