These works were established at a time when a rigid form of art only depicting scenes of Social Realism was enforced by the Soviet regime, and reflect the strong tradition of Realism that has pervaded Russian art since the 19th century. Social Realism is an academic style of painting which followed very strict rules during the time of Communism.

Grekov Studio of Military Artists served the aims of the State through Military art. The Studio is named after Mitrofan Borisovich Grekov, who won acclaim as a war artist while fighting with the Red Army in the Russian Civil War (1917-1922). He died in 1934, and in the same year the Grekov Studio was established under the Russian Ministry of Defence. Many of the Studio artists saw active service during World War II and much of their work focused on scenes from the “Great Patriotic War” (1941-45) as it was known in Russia. Artists were also given the opportunity to practise other genres like landscapes, portraits and scenes of everyday life, some of which we see in this collection owned by Dr. Mark Voloshin.

Trained to evoke emotional power through the medium of visual art and astute at capturing scenes of the horrors of war, we find the artists still depicting a gentle beauty and Serenity of Russian Art – influences which we are still able to see across contemporary Russian art produced today.