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David King

1943–2016

Biography

David King (30 April 1943 – 11 May 2016) was a British graphic designer, 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 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 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; book covers radical and progressive publishers, including Allison and Busby and Earthscan Publications; 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."

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Artworks

Left Right
  • Photograph of A. A. Tsexer by Alexander Rodchenko, 1937 (From Ten Years of Uzbekistan)

    David King
    2005
  • Photograph of A. A. Tsexer, defaced, Alexander Rodchenko, 1937 (From Ten Years of Uzbekistan)

    David King
    2005
  • Photograph of Akmal Ikramov

    David King
    2005
  • Photograph of Akmal Ikramov, defaced, by Alexander Rodchenko, 1937 (From Ten Years of Uzbekistan)

    David King
    2005
  • Photograph of Faizulla Khodzhaev by Alexander Rodchenko, 1937 (From Ten Years of Uzbekistan)

    David King
    2005
  • Photograph of Faizulla Khodzhaev, defaced, by Alexander Rodchenko, 1937 (From Ten Years of Uzbekistan)

    David King
    2005
  • Photograph of D. Abidova by Alexander Rodchenko, 1937 (From Ten Years of Uzbekistan)

    David King
    2005
  • Photograph of D. Abidova, defaced, by Alexander Rodchenko, 1937 (From Ten Years of Uzbekistan)

    David King
    2005
See all 17

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