This painting comes from our collection of original Soviet-era oil paintings. The collection is laid out like a timeline through Soviet Russian history, starting when the movement began between the late 1920s and early 1930s. The movement, which has three distinctive styles - Classical, Working Class, and Severe - can be traced back to Vladimir Lenin. The philosophy of the Communist leader was that all art produced should be for the people and should be easy to understand, while at the same time reflecting a social ideology. The artists of the Classical period focused on landscapes, still life, and portraits. Paintings of Russian field workers and factory workers, produced during the Working Class period, illustrate clearly the propaganda these artists were forced to place in these paintings. During the Severe period, the artists began pushing the edges of what was known as acceptable art. The paintings around this time begin to exude color and the paint quality, brush strokes and compositions all begin to change. Gavriil Nikitich Gorelov was born in Pokrovskoe, Moscow in 1880. He studied icon painting as a youth at the Penza Drawing School from 1898-1903. He went onto wrap up his studies at the Imperial Academy of Arts from 1903-1911 in St Petersburg. He stayed active in Moscow. Gorelov began exhibiting in 1904. He was a member of the AKhR/R (Association of Artists of Revolutionary Russia) from 1924-32. Some of the most important show Gorelov exhibited include, "Fifteen Years of the Workers", "Peasants Red Army", and "Industry of Socialism". Gorelov also participated in several "All Union Art Exhibitions" (which is a very high honor). Gorelov was awarded the "Stalin Prize" in 1950. He died in Moscow in 1966. Canvas Size: 30" W x 38" H This oil painting comes in the hand-made, closed corner, gilded frame by Richard Tobey in which it is photographed. Signed and dated on the back. Don't miss the opportunity to own one of these masterpieces.