Sychkov Fedot Vasilyevich

Fedot Vasilyevich Sychkov was a prominent Russian and Soviet painter, Honored Art Worker of the Mordovian ASSR (1937), Honored Art Worker of the RSFSR (1950), and People's Artist of the Mordovian ASSR (1955). Born into a poor peasant family in the village of Kochelayevo, he showed artistic talent from childhood, working in icon-painting workshops and painting church frescoes. With the support of General I. A. Arapov, he studied at the Drawing School of the Society for the Encouragement of the Arts in St. Petersburg (graduating 1895) and then attended the Higher Art School at the Academy of Arts. His main theme was the life of peasants and rural celebrations. Since 1960, the Mordovian Republican Museum of Fine Arts has held a permanent exhibition of his works, with the largest collection of approximately 600 paintings and graphic works.