Russian Art:
In Soviet Russia, the art of two generations of Russian artists lay hidden away from the world for the majority of the twentieth century. Educators who had visited the Soviet Union in the 70’s and 80’s were stunned after the collapse of the USSR when they began to discover the cache of wonderful art held in the artists’ studios. Before the 90’s, they had only been exposed to art which had been commissioned for usage by the state.

In the 1990s, visiting professors began to understand the Soviet academic system and how it affected all aspects of Soviet life from medicine to sports to the arts. Russian artistic training was similar to the early European art academies combined with the traditional Russian drive for excellence.

Training in art began at an early age (10-11), when students were tested for artistic aptitude and placed in special schools and classes. For art students, this meant they could look forward to years of artistic training in art middle schools, high schools, and colleges with only the finest talents reaching the top of the pyramid as the less talented and committed were weeded out. Those selected for entrance into the Academies proved their significant talent throughout their years of schooling.

Students accepted into an Academy had six more years of training, which included five to six hours of figure drawing and painting six days a week, before they could complete their diploma project required for graduation.

This intense training provided each graduate with the proficiency and skills they needed to become truly great artists. It was this proficiency which so impressed Linda and I when we were first exposed to Russian art in 1994. Within a year, we had moved from dealing in regional American art to Russian art.

We have remained dedicated to learning all we can about the Soviet period while promoting books and exhibitions of Russian artists.

We continue to maintain an inventory of Tradition Rediscovered and the Dictionary of 20th Century Russian and Soviet Painters.

Current Newsletter:
Russian Market

Newsletter Archives:
Pollack vs. Wyeth
January 2006
How Should I Collect Russian Art?
Smithsonian Show Creates a Buzz
The Chinese Connection
The New Art Gallery
How is art valued?