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Lot Essay
At the height of the Cold War, Arthur M. Odum served as a member of the United States Foreign Service in the Soviet Union. Recognised for his skillful diplomacy and for his achievements in administering highly classified intelligence, Odum worked as an intelligence liaison between various government agencies.
In 1967 Odum was posted, together with his wife Dr. Marillyn K. 'Bitsy' Odum (1938-2011) and their two sons John Arthur Odum and Christopher Digges Odum, to Moscow. During this period Odum was introduced to the group of dissident artists living and working in defiance of the regime. Odum was impressed by these artists who, in his words, “collectively and individually spoke out through their art against the brutal Soviet Communist repression of individual liberty and freedom of expression. In this collection of “unofficial”, or protest art, are religious themes, political criticism, and complaint about the economy and the dismal state of Soviet agriculture and the poor quality of food available in the marketplace. Other paintings are simply compositions of individual artistic expression of beauty, form, col or and theme.” (A. Odum, Unofficial Russian Paintings of the 1960s from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Odum, 1990, p. [2]). Odum acquired the paintings personally between the years 1967-1969 while serving as a diplomat with the United States Embassy in Moscow, which he recalled as a vivid memory during this period.
In 1967 Odum was posted, together with his wife Dr. Marillyn K. 'Bitsy' Odum (1938-2011) and their two sons John Arthur Odum and Christopher Digges Odum, to Moscow. During this period Odum was introduced to the group of dissident artists living and working in defiance of the regime. Odum was impressed by these artists who, in his words, “collectively and individually spoke out through their art against the brutal Soviet Communist repression of individual liberty and freedom of expression. In this collection of “unofficial”, or protest art, are religious themes, political criticism, and complaint about the economy and the dismal state of Soviet agriculture and the poor quality of food available in the marketplace. Other paintings are simply compositions of individual artistic expression of beauty, form, col or and theme.” (A. Odum, Unofficial Russian Paintings of the 1960s from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Odum, 1990, p. [2]). Odum acquired the paintings personally between the years 1967-1969 while serving as a diplomat with the United States Embassy in Moscow, which he recalled as a vivid memory during this period.