Soviet Art

USSR Culture

Soviet sculptor Nikolay Tomsky 1900-1984

Soviet sculptor Nikolay Tomsky

The soldiers and guerrillas, going into battle. High relief of the monument to Mikhail Kutuzov in Moscow. Bronze, granite. 1973. Soviet sculptor Nikolay Tomsky (6 December 1900 – 22 November 1984)

Soviet sculptor Nikolay Tomsky (6 December 1900 – 22 November 1984) –
Academician of the Academy of Arts of the USSR (1949, Corresponding Member of 1947), People’s Artist of the USSR (1960), and Hero of Socialist Labor (1970). Laureate of Lenin (1972), five of Stalin (1941, 1947, 1949, 1950, 1952) and the USSR State (1979) Prizes. Member of the CPSU (b) since 1950.
In human nature inherent desire for beauty. And art – one of the forms of human activity, revealing the most beautiful in life and especially in man. Such an understanding of the high purpose of art evolved in Tomsky for many years. He appealed to the image of the builder of the new society, the image of a Communist. As a student of the Higher School of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg, he, a former peasant and a soldier, thought about the main theme of which he will work.
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Soviet painter Mikhail Trufanov 1921-1988

Miners of Northern Urals. Soviet painter Mikhail Trufanov (November 22, 1921 - April 24, 1988)

Miners of Northern Urals. Soviet painter Mikhail Trufanov (November 22, 1921 – April 24, 1988)

Soviet painter Mikhail Trufanov (November 22, 1921 – April 24, 1988) – A member of the Leningrad Union of Artists (1952), Honored Artist of the RSFSR (1963). Veteran of the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945), awarded the medal “For Courage”, “For Military Merit” and “For Victory over Germany”. Mikhail Trufanov painted portraits, genre and thematic paintings, landscapes, still lifes, as well as sketches from nature. But fame brought the picture of “Hearth” (1954). With a picture of “Hearth” and other works related the assertion in the Soviet art of the 1950s a new image of working man. And it was these works that embody the collective image of blast-furnace operators, miners, steelworkers, and brought the author a well-deserved recognition. His works are in the State Russian Museum, State Tretyakov Gallery, in Art museums and private collections in Russia, Britain, France, USA, Italy and other countries.
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Soviet artist Mikhail Gavrilovich Belsky

Working Morning. Soviet artist Mikhail Gavrilovich Belsky

Working Morning. Oil painting by Soviet artist Mikhail Gavrilovich Belsky (November 21, 1922 – 1994)

Soviet artist Mikhail Gavrilovich Belsky (1922-1994) – Member of the USSR Union of Artists (1951), Honored Artist of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (1970), and People’s Artist of Ukraine. Since 1951, Mikhail Belsky became a regular participant of republican, national and international exhibitions of Soviet Art. He worked in the field of easel painting. The main theme in the artist’s work – the theme of peaceful labor. In 1968 he made a creative trip to the mines of Donbas, where he completed 39 paintings and graphic works. All these works are included in the exposition of his first solo exhibition, which brought the artist All-Union recognition.
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Magazine Ogonyok New Year celebration chronicles

Magazine Ogonyok New Year celebration chronicles

Happy New Year! 1961, #1. Magazine Ogonyok New Year celebration chronicles

Magazine Ogonyok New Year celebration chronicles – vintage photographs of 1940-1960s taken during New Year’s Day celebration in the USSR. The smell of tangerines and a living Christmas tree, hissing champagne glasses and optimistic song from the TV, the taste of salad and a chocolates … Everyone remembers the celebrated New Year in the Soviet Union, all of these feelings are familiar. And the most important feeling: in the USSR the New Year celebration was much happier than it is today.
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Soviet artist Boris Milovidov 1902-1975

Model airplane constructors, 1934. Saratov State Art Museum named after AN Radishchev. Soviet artist Boris Milovidov (12 November, 1902 - June 17, 1975)

Model airplane constructors, 1934. Saratov State Art Museum named after AN Radishchev. Soviet artist Boris Milovidov (12 November, 1902 – June 17, 1975)

Soviet artist Boris Milovidov (12 November, 1902 – June 17, 1975) – member of the USSR Union of Artists (1937), Artists Union of RSFSR, Honored Worker of Culture of the RSFSR (1973), Veteran of the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945). Boris Milovidov was born on November 12, 1902 in Saratov. According to his memoirs, he has always wanted to become an artist. Aged 16, he entered Higher State free art workshops (Saratov), which by the time of graduation in 1926 were converted into Art College. While a student, he studied the realistic traditions of the Soviet Art school. And in particular, the Saratov art school, originating from the realist school of Wanderers times. And just after graduating, he began working as a teacher. In his Alma mater, Saratov art college, he had worked for more than 40 years. He taught decorative drawing, painting and lithography until 1963. Boris Milovidov – an artist of a wide creative range. He worked in oil and tempera painting, gouache, watercolor, mixed media, graphics (using pencil, ink, Chinese ink, sauce, wet charcoal, and pen), studied lithography, book graphics and posters.
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Soviet artist Dmitry Belyaev 1921-2007

A girl with books. Oil on canvas. Painting by Soviet artist Dmitry Belyaev (18 November 1921 - 25 September 2007)

A girl with books. Oil on canvas. Painting by Soviet artist Dmitry Belyaev (18 November 1921 – 25 September 2007)

Soviet artist Dmitry Belyaev (18 November 1921 – 25 September 2007) – a member of the Leningrad branch of the Union of Soviet Artists (1952). Honored Artist of the Russian Federation (1998), Winner of the St. Petersburg government award in the field of literature, art and architecture (2004) for a series of works created in recent years. Laureate of Ilya Repin State Prize (2005). Member of Peter’s Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Soviet artist Dmitry Vasilievich Belyayev was born in the village of Ryazan Province. In 1929, after his mother’s death, the family moved to Moscow. First, Dmitry Belyaev studied in the studio of the Moscow House of Pioneers of the Bauman district, then in the Art School in memory of 1905. On the last course drafted into the Red Army. Member of the Great Patriotic War, fought in the South-West and the 2nd Ukrainian Front – was the commander of the tank compartment, was injured. Among his military awards are the Order of the Red Star, Patriotic War of the first degree, medals “For Victory over Germany” and others.
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Soviet artist Revold Baryshnikov 1924-1985

Our locomotive goes forward! 1972. Oil, canvas. Painting by Soviet artist Revold Baryshnikov (18 November 1924 - 5 August 1985)

Our locomotive goes forward! 1972. Oil, canvas. Painting by Soviet artist Revold Baryshnikov (18 November 1924 – 5 August 1985)

Soviet artist Revold Baryshnikov (18 November 1924 – 5 August 1985) – Member of the Union of Artists of the Ukrainian SSR (1960) and Honored Artist of Ukrainian Socialist Soviet Republic (1976). Revold Vladimirovich Baryshnikov was born November 18, 1924 in the city of Kharkov of Ukrainian SSR. The artist’s name Revold comes from the phrase “revolutionary movement”. In 1941, he graduated from art school and went to the front. He is a veteran of the the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945). In 1948-1954 he studied at the Kharkov Art Institute, in the workshops of the Soviet artists S. Besedin and G. Tomenko. Revold Baryshnikov paid much attention to the military-patriotic theme, the reflection of the collective work and life of Soviet youth. He created many of his paintings under the influence of the “severe style”. Besides, his paintings are distinguished by laconically imaginative solutions.
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