David King (30 April 1943 – 11 May 2016) was a British
graphic designer
A graphic designer is a professional within the graphic design and graphic arts industry who assembles together images, typography, or motion graphics to create a piece of design. A graphic designer creates the graphics primarily for published, ...
,
design historian, and writer, who assembled one of the largest collections of Soviet graphics and photographs.
From this collection, he created a series of books covering the history of the
Russian Revolution
The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and ad ...
and its associated art and propaganda. In addition to Soviet-era photographs, posters, and other materials, his collection included items related to the
Spanish Civil War,
Maoist China, the
Weimar Republic, and American
labour organizations.
King, a "leftist with
Trotskyist leanings",
in particular collected photographs and
ephemera
Ephemera are transitory creations which are not meant to be retained or preserved. Its etymological origins extends to Ancient Greece, with the common definition of the word being: "the minor transient documents of everyday life". Ambiguous in ...
related to
Leon Trotsky, who was extensively doctored out of revolutionary photographs and records under
Josef Stalin's regime.
King worked at ''
The Sunday Times Magazine'' as a designer and art editor. His design work also extended to album covers for artists like
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...
; book covers radical and progressive publishers, including
Allison and Busby and
Earthscan Publications
Earthscan is an English-language publisher of books and journals on climate change, sustainable development and environmental technology for academic, professional and general readers.
History
The Earthscan Publications imprint was founded by th ...
; and graphics for political causes he supported, such as the
Anti-Apartheid Movement.
He is the creator of the
Anti-Nazi League's red-and-yellow logo. King described his work as an attempt "to create a visual style for the left."
Early life and education
King was born in 1943 in
Isleworth Hundred
Isleworth Hundred was a subdivision of the historic county of Middlesex, England. In ''Domesday Book'' (1086) it was recorded as ''Hundeslaw Hundred'' ("Hounslow Hundred" in modern spelling).
It contained three parishes, whose acreage and squa ...
,
Middlesex. His father Stanley was a bank manager. The family lived in northwest London, in
South Kenton
Kenton is a district in north-west London, England, to the east of Harrow, London, Harrow and historically in Middlesex. As with surroundings in Harrow, Wembley and Kingsbury, London, Kingsbury, the area was a product of Metro-land, Metroland su ...
and then in
Northwood.
King attended
University College School, then studied typography at the London School of Printing and Graphic Arts (now the
London College of Communication), from which he graduated in 1963.
He was taught by several notable designers, including
Tom Eckersley,
Richard Hollis and
Robin Fior. Fior, who designed for the magazines ''
Peace News'' and ''
International Socialism
Proletarian internationalism, sometimes referred to as international socialism, is the perception of all communist revolutions as being part of a single global class struggle rather than separate localized events. It is based on the theory that ...
'', was a particularly strong influence. He introduced King to
Soviet Constructivist revolutionary graphics and political art and to the work of
John Heartfield, both important influences on King's later work as a designer and visual historian. Fior also introduced King to the typeface
Franklin Gothic Bold, which King used extensively in his later designs. As a student, King assisted Fior with his poster work for the
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) and on the design of the magazine ''
Peace News''.
Career
After graduating from the London College of Printing (renamed from the London School of Printing and Graphic Arts) in 1963,
King worked as an art assistant on the magazine ''
Queen'' and then for the advertising agency Stratton & Wolsey. In 1965, King joined the staff of ''
The Sunday Times Magazine'', where he collaborated with art director Michael Rand to transform the magazine's visual identity.
While working on a feature for ''The Sunday Times'' in 1970, King made his first trip to the Soviet Union to collect materials on
Vladimir Lenin, which were plentiful. However, he was unable to find any materials related to
Leon Trotsky, despite Trotsky's importance during the
Russian Revolution
The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and ad ...
. King, who admired Trotsky, then began to collect his photographs and memorabilia to counteract the suppression of his image under Stalin.
He uncovered many unknown images of Trotsky, and in 1972, he published his first book, ''Trotsky: A Documentary'', with text by the ''Sunday Times'' writer
Francis Wyndham.
While at ''The Sunday Times'', King also worked as a freelance graphic designer in the record business, designing covers for ''
The Who Sell Out'', ''
The Crazy World of Arthur Brown'', and ''
Axis: Bold as Love''. His design for the 1968
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...
album ''
Electric Ladyland'' generated controversy as it featured a
David Montgomery photograph of 19 nude women, which King intended as a contrast to the image of women found in ''
Playboy'' magazine. The photo was considered too risqué for the US edition of the album and was replaced by a picture of Hendrix. King, a self-taught photographer, additionally documented the training sessions of
Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and activist. Nicknamed "The Greatest", he is regarded as one of the most significant sports figures of the 20th century, a ...
before his
1974 match with
George Foreman
George Edward Foreman (born January 10, 1949) is an American former professional boxer, entrepreneur, minister and author. In boxing, he was nicknamed "Big George" and competed between 1967 and 1997. He is a two-time world heavyweight champio ...
. In 1975, the photographs were published in ''I Am King: A Photographic Biography of Muhammad Ali''.
In the 1970s, King created posters and graphics for many political groups, including the
Anti-Apartheid Movement and the
National Union of Journalists. He originated the red-and-yellow arrow logo for the
Anti-Nazi League and designed posters for
Rock Against Racism concerts and marches.
He also designed book covers for radical and progressive publishers, including
Allison and Busby and
Earthscan Publications
Earthscan is an English-language publisher of books and journals on climate change, sustainable development and environmental technology for academic, professional and general readers.
History
The Earthscan Publications imprint was founded by th ...
, as well as for mainstream publishers, such as
Penguin Books.
From 1979 to 1985, King was commissioned by
David Elliott, then-curator of the Museum of Modern Art Oxford (now
Modern Art Oxford), to design a series of catalogues and posters for the following Soviet art exhibitions: ''Alexander Rodchenko'', ''Vladimir Mayakovsky: Twenty Years of Work'', and ''Art Into Production: Soviet Textiles, Fashion and Ceramics 1917–1935''. This work would later be featured in the 2016 exhibit ''David King: Designs for Oxford (1979–1985)''.
King devoted his later career to uncovering and chronicling the art of the Soviet and the Constructivist periods, with a focus on the doctoring of photographs and the accompanying process of
historical revisionism
In historiography, historical revisionism is the reinterpretation of a historical account. It usually involves challenging the orthodox (established, accepted or traditional) views held by professional scholars about a historical event or times ...
. He published the result of his research in books, which include ''
The Commissar Vanishes: The Falsification of Photographs and Art in Stalin’s Russia'' (1997), ''Ordinary Citizens: The Victims of Stalin'' (2003), and ''Red Star Over Russia: A Visual History of the Soviet Union From the Revolution to the Death of Stalin'' (2009).
He also published a second book on Trotsky, ''Trotsky: A Photographic Biography'', in 1986.
King’s book became the basis of an audiovisual collaboration with composer
Michael Nyman
Michael Laurence Nyman, Order of the British Empire, CBE (born 23 March 1944) is an English composer, pianist, libretto, librettist, musicologist, and filmmaker. He is known for numerous film soundtrack, scores (many written during his length ...
, who created a soundtrack to ''The Commissar Vanishes'', which was first performed at the
Barbican Centre
The Barbican Centre is a performing arts centre in the Barbican Estate of the City of London and the largest of its kind in Europe. The centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings and art exhi ...
, London, in 1999.
King's collection grew to more than 250,000 items, which have formed the basis for a series of exhibitions and a special gallery in the
Tate Modern.
Stephen F. Cohen
Stephen Frand Cohen (November 25, 1938September 18, 2020) was an American scholar of Russian studies. His academic work concentrated on modern Russian history since the Bolshevik Revolution and Russia's relationship with the United States.
Co ...
, a professor of
Russian studies, described King's work as "a one-man archaeological expedition into the lost world, the destroyed world, of the original Soviet leadership. He was determined to unearth everything that Stalin had buried so deeply and so bloodily."
King died of a heart attack at his London home on 11 May 2016. He was survived by his partner, sister, daughter, son, and two grandchildren.
Legacy
The
Tate acquired the David King Collection, which includes more than 150,000 items "relating to the Russian revolutionary period, the Soviet Union and communist China" in June 2016.
In 2020,
Yale University Press published
Rick Poynor's book ''David King: Designer, Activist, Visual Historian''. Poynor and
''Eye'' magazine art director Simon Esteron also set up a website in support of the book; the site contains designs by King from his private archives.
Works
* ''Trotsky: A Documentary'', Penguin Books, 1972,
* ''I Am King: a photographic biography of Muhammad Ali''. Penguin, 1975,
*''How the GPU Murdered Trotsky'', 1977, by the
International Committee of the Fourth International, illustrations by David King
*
David Elliott & David King: ''Alexander Rodchenko''. Museum of Modern Art Oxford, 1979,
* David Elliott & David King: ''Mayakovsky: Twenty Years of Work''. 1982,
* David King &
Cathy Porter: ''Blood & Laughter: Caricatures from the 1905 Revolution''. 1983,
* David Elliott & David King: ''Art into Production: Soviet Textiles, Fashion and Ceramics, 1917–35.'', 1984,
*
Isaac Deutscher & David King: ''The Great Purges''. 1984,
* ''Trotsky: a photographic biography''. 1986, , by David King,
Tamara Deutscher (introduction), James Ryan (commentary)
* ''
The Commissar Vanishes,'' Metropolitan Books/
Canongate Books, 1997, ISBN 978-0-86241-724-6.
* ''Ordinary Citizens: The Victims of Stalin''. 2003,
* ''Red Star Over Russia: A Visual History of the Soviet Union''. 2009,
* ''Russian Revolutionary Posters: From Civil War to Socialist Realism, from Bolshevism to the End of Stalinism''. 2012,
* David King &
Ernst Volland
Ernst Volland (born 1946 in Bürgstadt/Miltenberg) is a German artist, photographer, cartoonist, gallerist, blogger, curator and writer living in Berlin. His main areas of endeavour are comics and comic photos; as well, he has published "fake art" ...
: ''John Heartfield: Laughter is a Devastating Weapon''. 2015,
Notes
References
External links
*
David King's bibliographyDavid King Collection"Why Trotsky's picture lay hidden for 70 years" Interview with David King from 2005 in ''
Socialist Worker'', 12 February 2005.
*
David Walsh"Uncovering the truth about Trotsky and the Russian Revolution 'continues to run my life'. A conversation with the remarkable David King" World Socialist website, 4 December 2008
* Roger Huddle
"David King: The man who rescued the avant-garde" ''
Socialist Review
The ''Socialist Review'' is a monthly magazine of the British Socialist Workers Party. As well as being printed it is also published online.
Original publication: 1950–1962
The ''Socialist Review'' was set up in 1950 as the main publication o ...
'' 414, June 2016.
* Richard Hollis
"David King obituary" ''The Guardian'', 25 May 2016.
{{DEFAULTSORT:King, David
1943 births
2016 deaths
Alumni of the London College of Communication
British collectors
British designers
British graphic designers
British historians
People educated at University College School