The Russian Experience. A private Collection.

12/06/2013 – 04/12/2014

When one speaks about Russian art the first thing that comes to mind are Russian icons or Russian abstract art with the names of the founders of this style like Kandinsky, Malevich, and Chagall. Those who have had a chance to travel to Russia and visit their famous art galleries like the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow and the Russian museum in St. Petersburg were impressed by the whole new world of Russian paintings, starting with 9th century icons to the paintings representing all arts styles — including classicism, romanticism, impressionism, realism, etc.

This year for the first time the Steamboat Art Museum presents a unique collection of Russian paintings from a private collection.

This collection will introduce a hidden world of Russian paintings from the 1930s to the 1980s. This is one of the most interesting, exciting and not a well known period of Russian socialist realism and impressionism styles. These art works became accesible to the western viewer when Perestroika occurred in the Soviet union and Gorbachev made it possible for the Russian artists to exhibit their works and allowed them to sell their paintings to private collectors.

It all started in the 1990s when the Western Art Collectors found a unique opportunity to discover these treasures, purchase them and bring them home.

These collectors and art specialists were impressed and excited about the high standards and quality of these pieces, which were found in the artist's private studios and small museums. This was a unique opportunity to obtain the real gems. Now the Russian Government has realized that during those turbulent times many of these collections had dissappeared into the private collections all over the world and they have prohibited taking any piece of art of that period without special permits from the ministry of culture.

The private collection presented to you by the Steamboat Art Museum consists of more than 50 selected paintings by reowned Russian artists of the mid 20th century. You will see landscaped, genre scenes, portraits, and historical paintings by such artist as Vasin, Lomakin, Sychkov, Gulyayev, Shevandronova, and many others, whose works can be found in the famous Trytyakov Art Gallery and prominent Russian Museums. The techniques of their painting, the color and brushstroke, the subject matter, and the emotional power and energy the artists have put int heir works are very powerful.

This exhibition can be of great interest to those who would like to discover an intriguing and fascinating world of the Russian “Hidden Treasures" during the 1930s to the 1980s.