Plastov Arkady Alexandrovich

<p>Arkady Alexandrovich Plastov was a Russian painter, People's Artist of the USSR, Honored Art Worker of the RSFSR, and full member of the Academy of Arts of the USSR. Born into a peasant family whose grandfather was an icon painter, he studied at the Stroganov School (1912–14) and the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture (1914–17). A fire in 1932 destroyed nearly all of his early works. His mature style crystallized during the war years of the 1940s: 'A Fascist Flew Over' (1942) embodies the monstrous unnaturalness of war, while 'Harvest' (1945) is a sorrowful poem of rural hardship. The jubilant 'Haymaking' (1945) expresses the hopes that came with victory. 'Spring' (1954, Tretyakov Gallery) was received as a poetic image of hope during the political Thaw. Among his finest post-war works are 'Tractor Drivers' Supper' (1951) and a cycle of portraits of his fellow villagers. Plastov also worked as a book illustrator for Tolstoy, Chekhov, and others.</p>