Alexandra Exter, like many Russian artists who left Russia after the revolution. She was born in 1882 in Bialystok, studied in Kiev. Came from a noble, wealthy family, and died in Paris in dire poverty in 1949. In Exter no heirs, and all of its horrible legacy to America. She, like many of her colleagues - artists-emigrants - disappeared from the national cultural horizons for many years. In Russia only in 1987 Theater Museum Bakhrushin organized in Moscow the first monographic exhibition of Exter. I specifically when visited Russia for its preparation. This was the first exhibition of its motherland.

At the beginning of last century, she worked at the Chamber Theater with Tairov. In 1917 she decorated "Salome" by Oscar Wilde was in Moscow is absolutely sensational performance. But Exter wrote and original kubofuturisticheskie, and abstract paintings. And when I came to France, again earned theatrical scenery. And taught at the Academy of Leger. Actually, she had many French friends, she was the figure of the Paris-Russian.

Talent Exter allowed to stand next to Malevich, Tatlin and Rozanova ... In modern parlance, this conditional rating Exter ranked fourth. In 1915, when Malevich wrote his first Suprematist paintings, he was not allowed into the studio, because he was afraid that this will be known ahead of time. And he wanted to prove that opened up entirely new art. And only one person came to him freely. It was Alexandra Exter. It was an excellent education, well-known French Cubism, Malevich and talked with her for hours. I read the letter in which he describes these meetings. In addition, she was friends with Tatlin and Burliuk Popova and Rodchenko.

I have her letters, of which it is clear that she literally starved to death. But at the same time, has restored his tireless work and packed in boxes to send it all over the ocean - in New York. Sorry for the pathos, but it is - a feat. The feat of the Creator, who knows what he has done something important, and this "something" must be left for all living. In New York he lived it long ago, Kiev familiar - artist Simon Liss, Exter was friends with him in Paris. Before the occupation of France, he saw that the Jews in Europe for advancing the terrible times, went to the States. It was a Russian Jew, the son of a banker in Kiev. The man is very intelligent, smart, smart. And he took the legacy of Exter, realizing its noble mission to preserve her creativity. He constantly spoke to the American Museum of requests for displaying works Exter, he gave them to them, because there was no other choice. Then they do no one bought.

I met with Simon Lissimom in December 1969. At that time I taught art studies at the University of New York, but he also taught painting. And when I came home to him, he began to show me the legacy of Alexandra Exter. He removed the paintings from the boxes, took out portfolios of costumes, then got out themselves, these costumes ... I was literally stunned and said that it was a sensation, and something must be done. He replied very cleverly: "Mr Nakov, I'll wait for 20 years. This is - at your disposal. When I made my discovery in America, nobody wanted to do it. Then I turned to the private gallery in Paris, where he organized in 1972, the first solo exhibition of Alexandra Exter, with the publication of the catalog - the first after her death.

In 1981, Simon Lissy left a will, which gave me the archive Alexandra Exter, and his personal archive. There - documents, correspondence, photographs, lists of all the works ... In short, it is - a full archive of Exter. I started this calmly and systematically addressed. But the prospects for publishing a monograph at the time was not. Only after the adjustment, starting work in the archives of Kiev and Moscow, I discovered a huge amount of material relating to Exter. But to begin work still could not. While the main theme for me was Malevich, I worked on the systematization of his career, he wrote a great book about it.

Now on the antiques market there is a need in the works of well-known, famous names. Begun a monstrous buzz around creativity and Alexandra Exter. Began to appear questionable rough work and absolutely brazen forgery. In the late 1990's friends approached me with a proposal to organize a "Society of Alexandra Exter. It was established in 2000. It is time for more serious attention to her creativity. I was a very valuable archive. It is a unique key to its creation. I have even her palette! Come to me for U.S. and Canadian museums, researchers from Spain, Greece, Germany and other countries. But the legacy of Exter scattered around the world, so there is plenty of work. Now there is a huge attraction to the market and the Russian avant-garde works of Exeter in particular. It is necessary to distinguish between market interest and research, because if the criterion or momentum is money and commerce, it spoils the artistic and moral perspective. I remember when I first came to Lissimu, it was, of course, a young art historian, an idealist. I asked him the same question about money. Here's what he told me: "Most people understand little about art. One thing they know is always: if it is expensive - it was good. For them, everything will automatically be interesting and good only because it costs a lot of money. And only then they will look at the painting .

Then I realized that he was absolutely right. This is elementary, the most primitive life arguments, but they are quite real. Because until Lissy gave all of the museums, few people took them. But when it was expensive, everything began to speak: Exter expensive, so it's an interesting artist. Serious researcher will never confronts a commercial purpose, but his works are convincing argument for the art market. Work on systematizing creativity Kazimir Malevich was done not only in difficult times, by itself it was a difficult topic, it is clear field. I myself have created its methodology. But the experience now gives me the opportunity to actually engage in creative Exter.

Two years ago in Paris, was published a large book on Exter, which is given deliberately distorted information about its heritage. In this way, trying to justify the strange work and irregular signatures. In Spain, appeared a large, simply gorgeous commercial catalog - also full of strange activities ... In this "advertising" Exter, of course, does not need.

Already several people have announced that they are supposedly working on a "catalogue raisonne". It looks ridiculous, because no one except me, did not work with archival materials heir Exter - Simon Lissima. In such controversial statements - short life. How can we seriously address the artist, even if you never saw his archive? But in this sense, Exter, alas, not alone, this happens with some other Russian artists of that time: the demand for their work is automatically accompanied by the demand for documentation. Today, many think that such documentation easier to create from scratch, of course, with one purpose - to sell counterfeit, which, unfortunately, in recent years has divorced a great variety.

But serious people, and large museums to be relevant in another way: I have direct contact with them. They treated me with questions, and I always try to assist them in documenting the work that they are. Some of these works were donated by him Lissimom.

It's not that somebody makes money on false papers, the existence of forgeries distorts the image of the artist's work. To me recently requested some art historians to urgently something to print, publish, explain. They just say: we often do not know what is this Exter, and that - fake. But if distorted or false information, work documents will continue to rotate in cultural circulation, will be printed and sold, then the next generation will get a distorted view of the artist's work. And this is wrong and totally unacceptable. Therefore, such cases must be seriously addressed.

In France - a country in which she died Exter - copyrights are protected for 75 years after his death. There is a law under which the heirs have the right to destroy the work that they consider false, and this, of course, only in order to maintain an exact image of the artist's work. This has repeatedly happened in the art of XX century, because the false work very quickly die "natural death" because do not reflect the creativity of an artist, but the idea of some kind of accomplice, who superficially understood it. This is not just immoral, it is abominable ... Fakes always distort the original, they are always far from the originals, and never with the truth of the artist's work can not be compared.

I consider it my duty to Simon Lissimom and, of course, before the works of Alexandra Exter save it from the fakes and forgers. And this does not make a career, she has already done. But the legacy left by these people should be in undistorted form become the property of the cultural community.

(The newspaper "Culture" № 44 (7503) 10 - 16 November 2005.)