For first time Vitebsk-based Marc Chagall Museum presents exhibition of stamps dedicated to great artist
19.10.2007
For the first time the Vitebsk-based Marc Chagall Museum presented an exhibition of stamps dedicated to the great artist. The collection was compiled by philatelist from Boston (USA) Garry Izraitel.
As BelTA learnt from the philatelist, he has collected over 200 stamps dedicated to the creative work of the great avant-gardist ever launched in the world. Garry Izraitel began compiling his collection in 1998. The first article was a stamp issued in France in 1963. It is noteworthy that 17 stamps were launched when Marc Chagall was alive. According to the philatelist, only members of Royal families are usually honoured to see stamps with their images inter vivos.
One more interesting fact is that only two times stamps featured the artist himself; the rest – images of his paintings. Besides, the most popular picture was “A Walk” painted in 1913. Three countries – Russia, Belarus and Sierra Leone launched stamps depicting “A Walk”. Besides, artists from Sierra Leone made some dreadful mistakes – they changed the colour and mentioned a wrong date of the picture on the stamp.
At the 17th International Chagall Readings Garry Izraitel made a report “Marc Chagall in Philately” and presented his book dedicated to this subject to Marc Chagall Museum in Vitebsk.