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Aleksei Konstantinovich Sokolov, born September 10, 1922, was a professor of painting and drawing at the Repin Institute of Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture. A colorful character and the son of a painter and an actress, Aleksei grew up around performers and artists in St. Petersburg.
From 1929 to 1937 he attended the Children’s Artistic School, studying with Solomon Levin and Konstantin Kardobovsky. From 1937 to 1941 he studied at the secondary art school at the Academy of Arts.
In 1941 he joined the Peoples’ Levy as a soldier and helped defend Leningrad during World War II. He was wounded in 1942 and demobilized from the army and sent to Siberia to recover from his wounds.
After returning to Leningrad, he began studies at the Repin Academy of Art in 1944, studying in the monumental painting studios of I. E. Grabar and V. M. Oreshnikov. He received a distinction for his diploma work “Flag Bearers of the World.”
In 1952 he was accepted into the Artists’ Union of the USSR. He began exhibiting his paintings that same year. From 1952 to 1968 he taught in the monumental painting department at the Mukhina School of Art (the State Academy of Industrial Arts).
In 1960 and 1961, Aleksei Sokolov took a sabatical to Paris. In 1961, the French government sponsored a competition and exhibition for young painters in Paris and for foreigners who were painting there during that calendar year. Aleksei received second prize which included publicity as well as prize money. In 1961, Pablo Picasso organized a selling exhibit with proceeds going to orphans of the Spanish war. He asked all painters in Paris to contribute work and Aleksei contributed two landscapes. The show sold out.
In 1968 Sokolov began teaching in the monumental painting department of the Repin Academy of Arts in Leningrad. He was the dean of the painting department from 1978 to 1983.
In 1978, he had a solo show in Orleans, France, which was well received critically and in sales. Other important exhibitions include:
- 1952: Exhibition of Leningrad Artists
- 1976: Personal exhibition in the State Memorial Museum of A.S. Pushkin (Mikhailovskoe)
- 1980: Personal exhibition in the V. Mayakovsky House of Writers.
- 1987: Personal exhibition in the Museum of Fine Arts in the city of Grozny (Checheno-Ingushetia)
- 1989: Personal exhibition dedicated to the creative work of A. Pushkin organized by the Friendship Community of France and Russia
- 1990: Personal exhibition in the State Museum of Pskov
- 1998: Personal exhibition in honor of Sokolov’s 75th birthday in the Museum of the Russian Academy of Fine Arts.
In September 1994, Aleksei and his son, Leonid, were artists-in-residence at Southern Adventist University near Chattanooga, Tennessee. They lectured to students and held a joint exhibition which was very successful.
Aleksei was awarded the title of Personage of Art, a prize received from the Ministry of Culture. Other awards include:
- Meritorious Art Worker of the Russian Federation - 1980.
- Honored Artist of Russia - 1981.
- Order of Merit for the Country, class II - 1998.
Aleksei Sokolov died September 2, 2001. His works are in collections in several cities in Russia:
St. Petersburg
- City Museum (two works)
- Museum of Russian Literature (two works)
- The State Pushkin Museum (one work)
- The Russian Museum (several works)
- The State Museum of Theatrical and Musical Arts (eleven works)
Moscow
- The Government Literature Museum (one work)
- The Museum of the Army (one work)
Other cities
- Museum Zapovednik - State Museum of Pskov (five works)
- Picture Gallery in Chelyabinsk
- Picture Gallery in Omsk
- Art Museum in Habarovsk
- State Memorial Museum of A.S. Pushkin
- City Museum of Peking, China
His works can also be found in private collections in Russia, Finland, France, Italy, Bulgaria, Spain, England, Israel and the United States.
His works have been published in various books and journals, including:
- “Aleksei Sokolov.” G. N. Vasilevich, S. N. Repin, 2004.
- “Aleksei Sokolov.” St. Petersburg, 2005.
- “Tradition Rediscovered.” CommonPlace Publishing, New Canaan, CT.
Art:
Not available online:
If you would like information about works that are not on the website, please contact us.
- A Lady in Summer (sold)
- A Woman from Siberia
- Autumn
- Autumn in Pushkin (sold)
- Dachas by the Shore
- Evening in Khasta (Crimea) (sold)
- Flowers and a Mirror (sold)
- Midday
- Old Lime Trees (sold)
- Olive Trees (sold)
- Orasansky Bridge (sold)
- Pond in the Pushkin Mountains (sold)
- Portrait of a Lady (sold)
- Portrait of American Student Lisa Anderson
- Portrait of Josefina Layalle (sold)
- Pushkin’s House in the Pushkin Mountains (sold)
- Reclining Nude (sold)
- Riga
- Stormy Sky (sold)
- Taking a Rest (sold)
- Tarkhovka (sold)
- Uspensky Cathedral
- Uspensky Church
- Walk in the Woods
- Yacht Club (sold)