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Nineteen graphic
impressions in this series by Andrey Avinoff illustrate The
Fall of Atlantis, a poem by George V. Golokhvastoff published
in limited edition in 1938. The Birth of Atlantis,
illustrated here, exemplifies the Art Deco style popular in the
1930s. The image is of a young male figure rising out of the sea,
symbolic of the legendary island said by Plato to have later
disappeared beneath the waves during an earthquake. Avinoff was
also known for his paintings of flowers, and 350 of his works
illustrate Wildflowers of Western Pennsylvania and the Upper
Ohio Basin.
Born in the Ukraine,
Avinoff's early interest was in entomological fauna. His work as
a Russian diplomat led him to immigrate to the United States in
1917 following the Communist Revolution. An assistant curator of
entomology at The Carnegie Museum in 1924, he was promoted to
director of the Museum in 1926.
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