Theodor Kittelsen. En Uheldig Bjørnejakt (A Bear-Hunt Gone Wrong). 1908

En Uheldig Bjørnejakt (A Bear-Hunt Gone Wrong) (Theodor Kittelsen, 1908)

Not a work by a Russian artist, but, “bears” are an archtypical “Russian” subject, so, I offer no excuses for this romp into “bearishness”. Don’t mess with the bear! You might be sorry!

By the way, my Nicky LOVES this picture… you can see why, of course!

For the curious, this painting is Danish… so… a bow of respect to Fr Peter Olsen, rector at St Basil Russian Orthodox Church in Maplewood NY, one of the finest priests and human-beings I have ever met. God keep you, Batiushka Peter!

V Zhukov. A Central Asian Landscape. 1958

A Central Asian Landscape (V Zhukov, 1958)

Nikolai Bogatov. A Pier on the Volga. undated (1880s-1900s?)

A Pier on the Volga (Nikolai Bogatov, undated (1880s-1900s?))

Valery Busygin. Morning. 2004

Morning (Valery Busygin, 2004)

Valery Busygin. A Fine Time. 2004

A Fine Time (Valery Busygin, 2004)

Valery Busygin. A Spring Dawn. 2004

A Spring Dawn (Valery Busygin, 2004)

Valery Busygin. The Tsna River. 2005

The Tsna River (Valery Busygin, 2005)

Valery Busygin. The Heavens. 2006

The Heavens (Valery Busygin, 2006)

Valery Busygin. A Snowy Winter. 2006

A Snowy Winter (Valery Busygin, 2006)

Valery Busygin. In the North: Alkhon. 2006

In the North: Alkhon (Valery Busygin, 2006)