Yuri Petrovich Kugach 1917-Present   |
Yuri Petrovich Kugach was born March 21, 1917 in the Old Russian city of Suzdal, located in the Vladimir region. In 1931 his studies in art began at the "1905" Moscow Art School. In 1934 the school established a painting department which afforded Yuri the opportunity to study under the great Nikolai Petrovich Krymov. In 1936 Yuri moved on to study at the Moscow Art Institute (known today as the Surikov). Once in attendance at the Institute, Kugach skipped directly to the second year and studied under the highly revered I.E. Grabar and S.V. Gerasimov. While studying painting at the Surikov, Yuri fell in love with one of his fellow classmates Olga Grigoryevna Svetlichnaya. In 1937 the two exquisite artists were married. The couple was blessed in 1939 with a son Mikhail, who would later carry on the artistic tradition of his parents. In 1942 Yuri graduated from the Institute and from 1948 to 1951 he taught at the Surikov. In 1943 Yuri Kugach and 11 other academically accomplished artists (including his wife Olga Svetlichnaya) were evacuated to Samarkand, Uzbekistan for the duration of the war. It looked like Moscow might fall to the Germans so the Soviet government decided to evacuate their most promising artists who they saw as cultural assets. He participated in the creation of the eminently important state commission of the painting Leading Individuals in the Kremlin along with V.P. Efanovii, S.I. Dudnik, and V.G.Tsyplakov. Yuri was elected "Academician" in 1975. After 1950, Yuri and Olga moved to the countryside of the Tver region. The couple lived in close proximity to the Academicheskaya Dacha (House of Artists of Russia). Numerous famous artists, including Repin and Levitan, were notorious for visiting and painting this beautiful countryside. Scenes of village and family life became the predominant subject of both Yuri and Olga's work. They were driven by the principle that "[art] is only strong when it is national" and a nation is made up of its people. What better way to create works of national eminence than to depict the nation's people. The decision to take up residence in the country was also to allow his wife to paint beautiful works unfettered by the commercial world. Yuri loved his wife dearly and valued her painting as high, if not higher than, his own. Their son Mikhail remembers his father saying that he would play the career enhancing political games. He would become famous and earn the family income so that his wife could spend her life just painting great paintings. After the war, Yuri was honored with a teaching and tutoring position at the Academicheskaya Dacha School for artists. Yuri is the founder and a member of the Moscow River School, a school steeped in the academic tradition. Great emphasis lies on capturing a sense of atmosphere as well as the accurate depiction of space. One of the primary messages he impressed upon his students was "Do not repeat our mistakes". Yuri Kugach is recognized in Russia as one of their greatest artists of the 20th century. | |
| A collection of images of paintings by Kugach. I assembled this group because of the small painting "Cold Evening" which was in the TMORA Road North exhibit and quickly became a favorite. Notice the similar scene "Fresh Fallen Snow". Click on any image to view a larger version. Assembled by Bob Smith, July 2010 | ||
 Cold Evening |
Fresh fallen snow - 1972
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Firewood Beside the Banya 19 1/2 x 25 1/2 inches Oil on Panel Date Painted: 1998 |
Summer at the Edge of a Forest 18 1/2 x 25 inches Oil on Panel Date Painted: 1991 |
Summer in the Marshes 23 1/2 x 18 inches Oil on Panel Date Painted: 1974 |
Spring Day 16 3/4 x 31 1/2 inches Oil on Panel Date Painted: 1964 |
Clouds above the Meadow 13 3/4 x 22 1/4 inches Oil on Panel Date Painted: 1970 |
 Forest Creek 22 7/8 x 17 3/4 inches Oil on Panel Date Painted: 1971 |
 Corner of the Garden 11 3/4 x 15 inches Oil on Panel Date Painted: 1990 |
In the Yard, Grey Day 15 3/4 x 23 1/4 inches Oil on Panel Date Painted: 1967 |
 Overgrown Yard 15 3/4 x 28 3/8 inches Oil on Panel Date Painted: 1981 |
 Grandmother 27 1/2 x 19 5/8 inches Oil on Panel Date Painted: 1962 |
On the Terrace 9 1/2 x 6 3/4 inches Oil on Panel Date Painted: 2001 |
 Interior 11 3/8 x 7 1/8 inches Oil on Panel Date Painted: 1989 |
 Study for the Painting, 'Defense of a Local Factor' 6 1/2 x 9 5/8 inches Oil on Paper on Panel Date Painted: 1942 |
Uzbek 8 1/4 x 6 inches Oil on Paper on Panel Date Painted: 1942 |
 Evacuation 6 5/8 x 8 5/8 inches Oil on Panel Date Painted: 1942 |
 Samarkand 7 x 11 3/8 inches Oil on Paper on Panel Date Painted: 1942 |
Wall of Registan 11 3/4 x 8 3/4 inches Oil on Paper on Panel Date Painted: 1942 |
 In the Studio, Evening 13 7/8 x 19 1/2 inches Oil on Panel Date Painted: 1951/52 |
 Thoughtful Woman 15 1/4 x 11 1/2 inches Oil on Canvas on Panel Date Painted: 1956 |
Evening Rays 16 x 21 inches Oil on Panel Date Painted: 1980 |
 Snowing 19 1/2 x 15 3/4 inches Oil on Panel Date Painted: 1981 |
 Wood in Snow 13 1/2 x 19 1/2 inches Oil on Panel Date Painted: 1957 |
Back Yard 21 3/8 x 27 3/8 inches Oil on Panel Date Painted: 1984 |
 Sunny Day 18 3/8 x 26 1/2 inches Oil on Panel Date Painted: 1985 |
 Last Snow 16 1/2 x 29 inches Oil on Panel Date Painted: 1981 |
Birch Trees Near Fence 19 3/8 x 27 3/8 inches Oil on Panel Date Painted: 1980 |
 A bright sunny day springtime - 1964 |
 Full Moon 19 1/2 x 27 1/4 inches Oil on Panel Date Painted: 2007 |
A brook
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 Waiting for the dance |
 A March day - 1977 |
Asovart2
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 Clouds over a field - 1968 |
 Early snow city street |
Fir Trees at the Edge - 1962
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 For the Fatherland center of triptych |
 For the Fatherland right of triptych |
The edge of a village - 1954
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 Holiday in a workers town - 1949 |
 Housewife - 1970 |
In the kitchen
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 Katusha Katya - 1955 |
 On the journey of war |
Portrait of artist Semen Skoptsov - 1950
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 Rye and birch tree - 1974 |
 Self portrait |
Snowing in May - 1999
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 Soldiers Oath |
 Spring getting dark - 1962 |
Stream
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 Summer by the lake |
 Summer |
In March, 1973 |
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There are, in fact, three generations of the Kugach family of artists: Yuri Kugach, his late wife Olga Grigoryevna Svetlichnaya (1915-1997), son Mikhail and his cousin Nikita, both born in 1939, granddaughter Ekaterina (b. 1965), grandson Ivan Kugach (b. 1972), and Mikhail's daughter-in-law Victoria Samsonova.
Shown below are 3 examples of paintings by Olga Svetlichnaya: | ||
Still life with apples, 1969
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 Birches, 1992 |
 The river, 1958 |