Vladimir Vasilyevich Lebedev (1891–1967) is known primarily as the founder of the Soviet school of children's books and the “artist of the twenties.” Indeed, thanks to his mentor’s extraordinary abilities and sensitive understanding of book architecture, he was able to educate a galaxy of illustrators and lay the foundation on which the culture of the Soviet picture book developed for many decades. Lebedev himself created dozens of the best examples of this genre, and in the mid-1930s he experienced a major professional breakdown, which changed his graphic language beyond recognition. Art critic and writer Vsevolod Petrov (1912–1978) began working on a monograph about Lebedev during the artist’s lifetime, often visiting his legendary workshop on Belinsky Street. But despite the unabating interest in Lebedev throughout the world, this book still remains the only study of the entire diversity of his work. Petrov traces how the artist’s creative path runs through painting, easel graphics, posters, is not interrupted by the change of eras - and grows through the war years and realism to the maturity of an unrivaled master. The new edition includes rare and previously unpublished works and photographs from the collection of the State Russian Museum and private collections, the artist’s autobiography and an essay on the history of Vsevolod Petrov’s monograph.