GRIGORII SRETINSKY (1899–1973) Old Village

signed, inscribed in Cyrillic with the title and dated ‘Sretentsky A.S. / Staraya derevnya / 56’ (on the reverse) oil on canvas 50.5 × 70 cm Painted in 1956. Grigorii Alexandrovich Sretinsky (1899–1973) was a Soviet painter and graphic artist, born in Moscow. He studied at Vkhutemas under Petr Konchalovsky and was among the founders of the artists’ association Bytie (Being), which brought together several of Konchalovsky’s pupils. He was subsequently a member of the Association of Artists of Revolutionary Russia (AKhRR) and the Moscow Union of Artists. His wife, Nina Sergeevna Stenshinskaya (1901–1988), was also an artist. Sretinsky served during the Second World War and later taught at a studio for disabled war veterans. His artistic oeuvre focused primarily on landscapes and still lifes.