Soviet Art

Soviet Actress Elena Proklova in Mimino, 1977, USSR

Soviet actress Elena Proklova – one of the few actresses who began acting as a child, made a brilliant career. The majority of child actors simply disappear into oblivion. Probably because Elena has been a workaholic since childhood, and was engaged in gymnastics since the age of four. Five year-old girl acted in the Kremlin, with the performance “Girl on the ball.” It was incredibly impressive, the hall applauded. At the age of 11 she has become a master of the sport in gymnastics. But her life changed one day when out of 11,000 girls who were casting for the film “Ringing, Open the Door” director Alexander Mitta chose Elena Proklova. For this film Elena subsequently received an award. There was not a single newspaper or a magazine in the country, which would not have written about it, because for the first time the prize for best actress went to the girl, not the actress. She received bags of letters and her pictures were sold in kiosks.
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One of the notable works of Soviet artist Yuly Yatchenko – “With the dream of peace. Rescuing works of Dresden Art Gallery by Soviet troops in 1945”. Image scanned from Soviet magazine “Ogonyok”

Soviet artist Yuly Yatchenko (born 1928, Chernigov region) graduated from Kiev art institute (1953), workshops of artists Sharonov and Grigoryev. Yuly Yatchenko worked as a head teacher, director, teacher of special disciplines in the Kiev art school named after Taras Shevchenko. He is a member of the National Union of Artists of Ukraine, Honored Worker of Arts of the Ukrainian SSR, Professor. Since 1963 he has been working at the department of drawing at the Art Institute (now – National Academy of Fine Arts and Architecture), to which he gave more than fifty years of life. Since 1979 – Professor. Yatchenko – participant of the republican and All-Union exhibitions since 1956. In the same (1956) he became a member of the National Union of Artists of Ukrainian SSR. From 1971 to 2008, he spent more than ten solo exhibitions.
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Nobleness of being yourself. Soviet artist Yevgenia Adamova

Soviet artist Yevgenia Adamova (1913 – 1991) – People’s Artist of the Turkmen SSR (1964). Born in Livny, Oryol region, in 1932, she and her family moved to Turkmenistan, Ashgabat. She studied at the Ashgabat art school in the workshops of AI Khvorostenko and II Cherinko (1935-1939). In the formation of the artist played an important role creativity of I. Cherinko – a teacher, a friend, and later her husband. During the Great Patriotic War in Turkmenistan she worked as a poster artist of “Okna TurkmenTAG” (windows of Turkmenistan). Yevgenia Adamova is the author of thematic paintings on the life of the Turkmen people, and a series of portraits. Among the most famous paintings of the artist – “At the bed of wounded son” 1943; “At leisure” 1948; “The new song” 1950, “Nevertheless, I will study!” 1957; “Turkmen mothers to Motherland” 1967; “Happiness” 1972, and a series of portraits. Adamova was awarded the State Prize of Turkmenistan named after Makhtumkuli. Many of the works of the artist were in the Museum of Fine Arts of the Turkmen SSR (Ashgabat)
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Soviet artist Marina Uspenskaya. Self-portrait in a bright dress. Oil on canvas. 1947

Soviet artist Marina Uspenskaya (June 18, 1925 – 2007) – a book illustrator, in perfection owning virtually all graphic techniques. Member of the Union of Artists of the USSR. Marina Evgenievna Uspenskaya was born in Moscow on June 18, 1925. She grew up in a family with serious artistic traditions. Her grandfather was a member of the USSR Academy of Arts painter Vasily Navozov. She studied at the Art School in memory of 1905 under the leadership of VA Shestakov (1947). She continued her education in the workshop of Book Art of Moscow State Art Institute of Surikov, where her teachers were MM Cheremnyh and VA Degtyarev. Uspenskaya was married to a famous Moscow artist, academician Boris Uspensky (1927 – 2005).
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Chronicle of life of people in the USSR through Soviet Union journal covers. July 1953

Soviet Union journal covers
Sovetsky Soyuz, or “The Soviet Union” was a monthly illustrated journal, published in Moscow in 1930-1991. The magazine published articles on the events of the internal life of the USSR and its foreign policy, showing, among other things, the advantages of living in the USSR. Available in Russian, English, German, French, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Arabic, Serbo-Croatian, Urdu, Hindi, Finnish, Romanian, Hungarian, Mongolian, Bengali, Vietnamese, and Italian languages. Of course, distributed in the USSR and abroad. The magazine had a supplement “Sport in the USSR”. Founded by Maxim Gorky, until 1950 the magazine had another title – “USSR under Construction”. Unfortunately, along with the collapse of the Soviet Union, many newspapers and magazines have ceased to exist, including The Soviet Union.
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Group portrait of artists. 1978. Soviet artist Irina Vorobyova (7 September 1932 – 2 February 1993)

Soviet artist Irina Vorobyova (7.09.1932-2.02.1993) – member of the Union of Artists of the USSR (1958) and Honored Artist of the RSFSR (1979). She graduated from Moscow Art School (1943-50); Moscow Art Institute of Surikov, studio of easel graphics of People’s Artist of the USSR, academician EA Kibrik. Her teachers were M.V.Matorin, M.A.Dobrov, P.I.Suvorov, BA Dehterev, and MM Cheremnykh (1951-57). Vorobyova illustrated books in publishing houses “Children’s Literature”, “Young Guard”, “Soviet Russia”, “The Kid”. In 1986 – awarded the medal “For Labor”. She developed multi-layer printing system with one board in the technique of colored engraving on cardboard, which is unique.
Participant of All-Union, republican, international, regional exhibitions. Besides, her solo exhibitions took place in 1963, 1972, 1978, 1983, 1984, and 1992 in Moscow. In addition, in 1979 in Vladimir, in 1983 – in Izhevsk, and in 1984 – Michurinsk. Her works are in the State Tretyakov Gallery, the Pushkin Museum, 90 museums and galleries in the former Soviet Union and abroad (Bulgaria, Germany, Egypt, Italy, Finland, and France).
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In Blue Vastness. Soviet artist Arkady Rylov (17 January 1870 – June 22, 1939, Leningrad, the USSR)

One of the first landscape paintings of great ideological content is a picture of a prominent Soviet artist Arkady Rylov “In Blue vastness”, created in 1918. This picture is part of a number of those works, from which starts the history of Soviet art. And this is absolutely correct, because “In Blue Vastness” – one of the first significant ideologically and artistically works created in the first years of Soviet power, though those that have retained not only its historical value, but also today give us a living aesthetic pleasure. The painting was as if the result of many searches and achievements of the artist for all his previous artistic life … Arkady Rylov – wonderful landscape painter, the successor of the great traditions of the Russian school of painting, who created one of the first impressive images of Lenin (“Lenin in Razliv”) – leader, fighter, builder of the new life, which entered the treasury of Soviet art.
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