Galakhov, Nikolai Nikolaevich

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Nikolai Nikolaevich Galakhov was born May 29, 1928 in Kazan on the Volga river. As a child, he liked to look at reproductions of the works of Levitan and Nesterov.

He attended art college in Kazan from 1942 to 1947. He entered the Repin Academy in 1947 where he studied in the studios of R. Frenz, graduating in 1953. He began exhibiting his works in 1949. In the years after his graduation he worked a great deal and his works were seen in many St. Petersburg and national art shows. He became a member of the Leningrad chapter of the Russian Artists’ Union in 1955. He was awarded the title Honored Artist of Russia in 1984.

Galakhov’s artistic path and his opinion of the world were developed during the second world war. He had rich experience but didn�t know how to show it on canvas, so he had to search to find his style. Finally he understood himself and began focusing on the individual moods of nature. In the morning he would find the perfect spot to paint, and after painting all day, would come home late at night.

His paintings are very serious and thoroughly composed. His work is traditional. He tries to portray the width of a river as well as the beauty of its banks.

His paintings can be found in galleries and private collections around the world, as well as in art museums, including:

The Art Museum, Belgorod
The Art Museum, Irkutsk
The Art Museum, Severobaikalsk
The Art Museum, Ulyanovsk
The Krasnoyarsk Art Museum
The Magnitorgorsk Art Gallery
The Museum of Fine Arts, Vologda
The Perm Art Gallery
The State Museum of Fine Arts, Ulan-Ude
The State Museum of Fine Arts, Yakut
The State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
The State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow
The Tomsk Art Gallery

His works have been published in various books and journals, including:

“Soviet Impressionism.” Antique Collectors’ Club Ltd., Woodbridge, Suffolk, England, 2001.
“The Visual Arts of Leningrad.” Artist RSFSR (Russian Soviet Federal Socialist Republic), Leningrad, 1981.
“Guernsey’s Artwork of the Soviet Union.” Guernsey’s, New York, 1988.
“Unknown Socialist Realism: The Leningrad School.” NP Print Edition, St. Petersburg, 2007.

Galakhov’s wife passes away in 2007. In that same year he lost sight in one of his eyes from glaucoma and as a result did not produce any paintings.