History

Ralph Bartlett first visited Russia in 1912. The Great War and the Russian Revolution precluded further visits for several years, but in the 1920s, Bartlett resumed his travels to the now Soviet Union, and made annual pilgrimages for a number of years, availing himself of opportunities to buy artistic treasures for his Boston gallery, "Old Russia," and enjoying a surprising freedom to photograph not only buildings and artifacts, but also street scenes. His personal library, bequeathed to Dartmouth in 1960, reflects his wide interests in Russian life and culture.

Photographs of Leningrad and Moscow taken by Bartlett in 1930. Hood Museum Collection.

Click on any image to enlarge.

Curated by Eric Esau and John DeSantis. Designed by Dennis Grady. Grateful acknowledgment to Kellen Haak, Kathleen O'Malley, Cynthia Gilliland (Hood Museum of Art), and Joshua Shaw (Rauner Special Collections Library). Bibliography and credits.