Biography: Main Dates
1912, January 2nd – born in Kishinev. Parents – Yakov Yakovlevich Zaltsman, officer of 59th Lublin infantry regiment, and Maria Nikolaevna, born Ornshtein. Childhood spent in Odessa. After revolution – wandering in Southern Russia, Ukraine, Moldavia.
1925 – family moves to Leningrad.
1926-1928 – studies at school.
1928 – trainee, assistant to designer at film studio “Belgoskino”. Works under the leadership of А.А. Arapov and V.E. Egorov.
1929 – acquaintance with P. Filonov. Zaltsman becomes the member of “Masters of Analytical Art” (МАИ).
1930 – assistant to designer, later production designer at film studio “Lenfilm”. As such he made more than 13 films before 1941.
1927-1928, 1931-1932 – cooperation with magazines “Construction”, “Young Proletarian”, “Incisor”, “Turning Point”.
1931-1932 – works on decoration of A. Bondi’s play “Inventors” in “Theatre for children” at The First State Art Studio.
1932 – acquaintance with oberiuts.
1932 – 1939 – film expeditions to Urals, Pamirs, Karelia, Baikal region, Middle Asia.
1933 – participation (three illustrations) in collective work on illustration of Karelian-Finish epos “Kalevala” (“Academia” publisher, series “Treasures of World Literature”, 1933).
1935 – marriage with former classmate Rose Magid.
1940 – daughter Elena (Lotta) was born.
1941 – parents die of hunger in Leningrad.
1941-1942 – designer if masking works on Leningrad defense.
1942, July 27th – evacuation with “Lenfilm”. August 20th – arrival to Alma-Ata.
1942-1945 – production designer at Central United Film Studio.
1945 – production designer at Alma-Ata film studio (later named “Kazakhfilm”). As such he made more than 22 films until 1985.
1948 – dismissal from the studio during the campaign of struggle with cosmopolitism. Registered as a special migrant; reinstated in 1953.
1954 – acquaintance and marriage with I.N. Pereselenkova.
1954-1985 – chief designer of “Kazakhfilm”.
1948-19?? – teaches the history of art at the actors’ department of Art school of Alma-Ata film studio and at history and philology departments on Kazakh State University; 1953-1985 – teaches at Kazakh Pedagogical Institute; 1970’s-1985 – teaches at director’s courses at “Kazakhfilm”.
1963 – awarded the title “Honored Personality of Art of Kazakhstan” for contribution to the film art of the Republic.
1967– designs decor of the territory of Exhibition of Achievements of People’s Economy (ВДНХ) for the Days of Culture and Art of Republic of Kazakhstan.
1968 – begins to make the monumental decoration of new buildings of “Kazakhfilm”.
1972 – acquaintance with I. Kazakova.
1983 – personal exhibition in Union of Artists of Kazakhstan and publication of the first album.
1985, December 20th – dies of the outcome of the heart attack.