Soviet Artist Nikolay Pavlovich Yeryshev 1936-2004

Soviet Artist Nikolay Pavlovich Yeryshev

According to art critics, the work of Nikolai Pavlovich Yeryshev is a most valuable contribution to the artistic history of the USSR. A wonderful master of the subject-thematic picture, Yeryshev managed to rise the history of his country and era to a high philosophical understanding. The artist’s paintings created in 1970-1980, put his name on a par with the classics of Soviet art. In particular, “The Collective Farm Market”, “Carnival in Venice”, “Defense of Orenburg”, “On the grain stock”, “Refugees” and many others.
An artist-monumentalist by profession, he was looking for great, epoch-making themes for his works. Meanwhile, after his first participation in the zonal exhibition, he became the member of the USSR Union of Artists (1965). And in 1967, for the painting “On his land” the artist received the highest award of the All-Union Exhibition of Young Artists. Also, the first personal exhibition of Nikolai Eryshev took place in Moscow in 1973.

The picture “Orenburg Shawl” was lucky – presented at the All-Union Exhibition, and at the World Exhibition of Young Artists in Paris. Now the picture is in the Tretyakov Gallery.

People’s Artist of the RSFSR (1986), Honorary Citizen of Orenburg (1988), Laureate of the Orenburg Lira Prize (1997) Nikolai Pavlovich was very active and sociable person. Also, he was the chairman of the Orenburg Union of Artists of the USSR for ten years.

Born in the village of Apsheronskaya of Krasnodar Territory, his childhood was during the Great Patriotic War. Unfortunately, he early learned hunger, need and post-war devastation. Later, he imprinted all the experiences of military childhood in a series of paintings about the war. In particular, in his paintings the artist shows pain, grief, which the war brought.

Soviet Artist Nikolay Pavlovich Yeryshev

Meanwhile, at the age of 14, Nikolai Eryshev entered the Krasnodar Art College. After finishing it he entered the Moscow State Art Institute named after Surikov (1956-1962). Here, the great influence on creative development of the future artist had the outstanding Soviet artist AA Deineka.

In 1962, at the invitation of SA Varlamov, director of the Orenburg Regional Museum of Fine Arts, N. P. Eryshev together with his wife and son moved to Orenburg. And from that time he lived and worked in Orenburg.

Anxious, painful moods penetrate the pictures of the 90s – “At Dawn” (1989), “Dogs” (1993), “Fire” (1994). At the same time, in the painting “One evening in the village of Petrovsky”, in still life reflected the thirst for beauty and good.

His works are in the State Tretyakov Gallery, the State Russian Museum, the Kiev Museum, and other museums of the USSR, as well as in other countries.

Noteworthy, at the end of his life he wrote two excellent autobiographical books. Among them “Drawings from nature” and “White geese on white snow,” in which he shared in an accessible and fascinating form the secrets of the artist’s skill, and reflections on life.

Sources:
Soviet artist illustrated album. 1978
website