SEDOV, Anatoly Georgievich / Анатолий Георгиевич Седов [born 1919]
“Winter Haze” / View from the Moscow River
1953
oil on board / 6 inches by 11.3 inches
Between 1947 and 1953, when this was painted, Joseph Stalin erected seven skyscrapers surrounding the city of Moscow. To all but Muscovites themselves, the ring of buildings is known as “The Seven Sisters.” Their silhouettes are remarkably similar, but it is likely the building on the horizon houses Moscow State University.
Biographical information on the artist Sedov is scant in English. And his inclusion in the Community Collection is almost accidental: “Winter Haze” was acquired on Ebay using funds generated by the C.C.Trust, a memorial fund.
UPDATE [29APR2019]: A second small painting by Sedov has recently come on the market, which seems to confirm the information we had collected: “Komsomolskaya Square (“Three Station Square”) with “Leningradskaya Hotel” behind the viaduct (one of Seven Sisters, Stalin style skyscrapers) under final steps of construction c.1953.” This one measures 7.5 inches by 13.2 inches; apparently Sedov prefered working in miniature.
