Meridian to Exhibit Paintings by Renowned Russian Artist
Opened on November 14, 2008, and on display until March 8, 2009, Meridian International
Center presents selections from “The Timkov
Collection”, provided by Timothy and Lisa Wyman,
featuring remarkable landscapes by renowned
Russian painter Nikolai Efimovich Timkov (1912-1993). Dr. Alison Hilton, an eminent scholar of
Russian art history and Chair of the Department of
Art and Art History at Georgetown University, will
serve as co-curator of the exhibition.
A holder of the title of “Honorable Artist of the
Russian Federation”,
Timkov is represented in
major public collections
including the State
Russian Museum and
the St. Petersburg
Museum of History.
Dr. Albert Kostenevich,
Impressionist Curator at
the Hermitage Museum
in St. Petersburg, has
characterized him as
“the greatest Russian
Impressionist landscape painter” of the second and
third quarters of the 20th century.
Nikolai Timkov was born to a farming family in the
years prior to the Russian Revolution. Growing up in
a village located along the lower Don River instilled
in him a lifelong appreciation for rural life and
nature. This influence can be seen in his remarkable
depictions of small communities, winter landscapes,
and the Ural Mountains – all portrayed in vibrant
colors with a deft hand.
Timkov began painting as a youth and later studied at
the Academy of Arts in present-day St. Petersburg. In this
setting, he was influenced by the works of great Russian
landscape painters, among them Levitan, Shishkin,
and Brodsky. During the course of his long career he
also incorporated elements found in works by French
Impressionists. Timkov regularly returned to favorite
rural places to paint these locales in different seasons. His
landscapes embody the close relationship between the
people of Russia and their land.
This exhibition, involving the Embassy of the Russian
Federation, provides a wonderful opportunity for
Meridian to work closely with Russia at a crucial time of
leadership change.