Willow by the Creek

Valerian Mikhailovich Formozov (1921–2004) was a Moscow-based painter and Honored Artist of the RSFSR. He graduated from the Gorky Art School (1949) and the Latvian Academy of Arts, where he studied under E. F. Kalnins and J. J. Tilbergs. He taught at the Latvian Academy of Arts and the Riga School of Applied Arts (1952–1964). He became a member of the USSR Union of Artists in 1956 and participated in numerous exhibitions in the Baltic states. His works are held in private collections in Russia, France, the UK, the USA, and Germany.