Congratulations to Kee Ha who placed the winning bid of $750 for March's silent auction painting, "Summer Shade, Ukraine" by Victor Kirillovich Gaiduk, Estimated at $2,000 to $2,500.

As our April silent auction selection, we are pleased to present a true gem and the perfect painting to celebrate the season, "Spring on the Dubrovka River" by Vladimir V. Filippov, estimated at $4,000 to $5,000. Spring is the season of new beginnings, fresh buds bloom, animals awaken and the earth comes to life again. This work is a beautiful representation of the Russian country side and shows the wonder, beauty and hope of Springtime, which Filippov so masterfully captures.

Filippov captures the native Russian countryside with a vivid intimacy attesting to a love of life spent close to the land. The contrasts and vividness of colors combined with Filippov's masterful use of shadows in "Spring on the Dubrovka River", shows Filippov's impressive skills and natural talent.

Filippov is one of Russia's most talented up-and-coming artists, and one of the Gallery's favorite painters. He has grown to be one of the most honored landscape artists painting in Russia today.

Filippov was trained, and lives in the renowned Russian art village "Akademicheskaya Dacha" or Academic Dacha, halfway between Moscow and St Petersburg. For more than 130 years, this village has been almost a sacred place to Russian artists. Filippov was introduced to the McCarthey Gallery by the master painter Yuri Kugach (recently deceased at age 97) who was named as one of the top 10 artists of Russia in the twentieth century. Under this tutelage, Filippov has become a respected and sought after Russian artist.

"Spring on the Dubrovka River", Vladimir V. Filippov
15" x 23", 2010, Oil on Board,
Estimated at $4,000 to $5,000- Framed Current Bid $1,250, by Cecil Crowson

We invite you to participate in this month's auction and thank everyone who placed bids last month. This is an exceptional opportunity to add a beautiful work by a highly acclaimed artist to your collection.

Estimated at $4,00 to $5,000, the current high bid is just $1,250! The next bid is $1,500, followed by minimum bidding increments of $250. Remember, there is no reserve, at the end of the auction the high bid wins!

Bids will be taken via telephone, or e-mail until 7:00 pm MST, Friday, May 1st. Follow all the bidding updates on the Gallery's website.

Note: You may place a maximum bid and the Gallery will bid on your behalf up to your maximum. By placing a maximum bid you will be assured you are not out bid at the last minute.

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Academic Dacha

Russia has a long tradition of the great master painters giving apprenticeship to the best of the next generation thereby keeping the venerated Russian tradition of realism alive. That is the case between the legendary Russian master painter Yuri Petrovich Kugach and his student, Vladimir Viktorovich Filippov. They lived and worked in the legendary artistic community of Academic Dacha.

About half way between Moscow and St. Petersburg close to Tver, is the small village of "Akademichka" (or in English, "Academic Dacha"). It is about 10 kilometers off the main road, nestled in the Russian forest and graced by the shimmering Lake Mistino. The village has been the spiritual heart of Russian art since the village was founded in 1884. It has been the seasonal home of many of the great Russian artists over the last century and a half. The Academic Dacha initially served as a country refuge for impoverished or ailing artists from the Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg. Overtime, the area increasingly became a favorite with students and professors who came to paint landscapes in the open air. The setting so appealed to artists, that many spent the greater part of their lives there, purchasing small country homes (dachas) nearby. From Repin to Levitan to Kugach and countless other greats, this small village has been painted more and has inspired more great art than any other place in Russia.

Even today, in this idyllic setting, many great artists still call Academic Dacha home. The place has been the residence of Yuri Petrovich Kugach (who recently passed at the age of 97) since 1951. Over the years, Yuri Petrovich was a generous mentor to several promising artists. Kugach, who was named one of 'Russia's top twenty artists of the twenty first century', introduced us to one of his students in 2011, Vladimir Filippov. Yuri Petrovich told us that Vladimir was his finest student ever. Kugach told us that Filippov's soul was imbued with Russia's nature. He said that "while you can teach technique, color and composition---an artist's ability to 'feel' the land is unteachable." Kugach said that the instinct of greatness is genetic and that Filippov has that very rare natural talent.

The Artist-
Vladimir Viktorovich Filippov, b 1956

Vladimir V. Filippov was born in 1956 in Vyshniy Volochek. He spent his childhood in Novoye Kotchische Village, where such famous artists as brothers Sergei & Aleksei Tkachev lived. It was also not far from the Academic Dacha named after the great painter Ilya E. Repin. The Academic Dacha is a well-known Art Academy and artist community in Russia, and that creative atmosphere had a great influence on young Vladimir's creative future. Filippov spent long hours visiting artists in their studios, and admiring great artists and their paintings. Since childhood Vladimir's dream was to become a great artist.

But at the beginning, Vladimir's way of life was sidetracked from art. Having graduated from the Railway Collage, he enrolled in the Soviet Army. After his demobilization, he entered the Agricultural Academy. However, he never abandoned his dream to become an artist. Vladimir painted his first water-colored still life from nature in the studio of Nikolai A. Sysoev, who was an honored artist of the Soviet Union. He painted with great vigor under Sysoev's direction. Later on in 1970, he became acquainted with Peter I. Strakhov and Peter's wife Lia A. Ostrovaya, who were famous artists in Leningrad (St. Petersburg). Peter Straknov made great contributions and progress in Vladimir's creative development. Since 1970, Vladimir Filippov has devoted his life to painting full time. He has been an enduring participant of all the local and regional exhibitions since 1980.

Since 1990, Filippov has trained and worked under the Russian Realist masters Yuri P. Kugach (senior) and his son Mikhail Y. Kugach, who is now head of the Kugach Studio and a full member of the Russian Academy of Arts. Also, Vladimir has painted in the company of such wonderful artists as Grigory Chainikov and Andrei Zakharov. These artists and close friends have played an important role in Vladimir's development as an artist. Filippov is one of the few artists continuing the great tradition of Russian Realistic Art.

Vladimir Filippov has been a member of the Union of Russian Artists since 2003. His paintings are exhibited in the Museums of Mogilev and Bobruisk (Republic of Byelorussia), in the Museum of Harbin (China), in many private art collections in Russia, Czech Republic, Yugoslavia, Romania, Finland, Germany, China, and the USA.

Filippov works with the Moskvorechie Creative Association.