The Poet of St. Petersburg                         11

Ciurlionis, it was during his American period that Dobuzhinsky
wrote his autobiography, the first volume of which was published
in 1976. The manuscripts for many of his recollections are in the
Bakhmeteff Archive which is now one of the major repositories
of his papers, containing not only Dobuzhinsky's correspondence
and manuscripts, but thousands of drawings and sketches as well.
Dobuzhinsky's paintings, illustrations, costume and stage de¬
signs were part of one of the most vital movements in the history
of Russian art. His inspiration was drawn from his spiritual homes
of Novgorod and St. Petersburg to the world beyond his own
migration through Europe to the United States. His achievement
in such a wide arena has led the critic Louis Reau to place him "in
the forefront of his generation."