Winter Associates, Inc.

Aleksandr G. Maksimenko oil- $1,500-3,000

Aleksandr G. Maksimenko (Ukranian, 1916-2011), "Masters of the Land", 1947, oil on canvas depicting heroic triumvirate of figures standing in newly plowed field, young Soviet soldier with bike, woman in pink kerchief carrying scythe, and bearded man smoking cigarette survey spring landscape where tank is visible in middle ground, signed LL, inscribed with artist's name and work title verso, frame bearing plaque engraved with artist's name, alternate title "The Land Owners" and date, not examined out of frame, ss: 34" h. x 46" w.; along with hardcover art reference book, Matthew Cullerne Bown, "Socialist Realist Painting", Yale University Press, New Haven: 1998, featuring same painting on p. 266, illustration 298, slightly ripped glossy cover. [Bown argues that the expectant gaze of artistic subjects, like that of the figures in Maksimenko's grouping here, was a hallmark of the optimistic mood of the late Stalinist period. "Remote gazes," Bown continues, "were also space-creating devices, evoking the vast expanses of the Soviet country, and implicitly, paradise itself" (266-267). The mysterious gaze does not engage directly with the viewer, thereby continuing a visual tradition established with Russian Orthodox icons. "Masters of the Land" is also featured in "The Art of Ukraine of the 20th C." magazine but listed under the alternate title of "The Land Owners."]