Porfiri Krylov

Porfiri Krylov
1902-1991

Porfiri Nikitich Krylov was born in 1902 in the province of Tula. From 1918 to 1921 he studied at the Art Academy of Tula. He then went on to study at Vhutein (The Higher Artistic and Technical Institute) under professors A.A.Osmerkin, A.V.Shevchenko, and A.P.Konchalovsky. After his studies he worked actively in Moscow. He is well known for his portraits and landscapes. He was also a member of RAPKH, an important artist collective of the former Soviet Union. He is best known for his membership in Kukryniksy, the trio of graphic artists. In 1924 the three artists P.N. Krylov, M.V. Kupriyanov, and N.A. Sokolov teamed up to create paintings, posters, books, illustrations, and satirical drawings. This group began exhibiting in 1934. Krylov died in Moscow in 1990.

Exhibitions partial list

Awards:(partial list)

6 USSR State Prizes
Full member of the USSR Academy of Arts
Lenin Prize
Member of the Presidium of the USSR Academy of Arts (1947-1949)
People's Artist of the USSR
RSFSR State Prize (named after I.E. Repin)
Stalin Prize, 1942, 1947, 1949, 1950, and 1951

Exhibitions:(partial list)

1933, "Fifteen Years- Artists of the Russian Federation", Moscow

1946-1952, "All-Union Art Exhibit", Moscow


Collections:(partial list)


Artist's Collection
Roses, 1965, Oil on Cardboard, 47 x 61 cm

Nicolay Fine Art
Landing Pier on the Oka, 1946, Oil on Cardboard, 21.5 x 33 cm
Blue Country House, 1973, Oil on Canvas, Mounted on Cardboard, 35 x 50 cm

The Russian Museum, Leningrad
Venice, Early Morning, 1956, Oil on Canvas, 38 x 51 cm

The State Museum named after N.P. Krylov in Tula

Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow

Ufizzi Gallery, Florence
Self-portrait,


Books:(partial list)
1998 Socialist Realist Painting, by Matthew Cullerne Bown

- p. 153, The Morning of an Officer in the Tsarist Army, 1937-8, Oil on Canvas, 65 x 79in., Russian Army Museum (Kukryniksy work)

- p. 215, The Flight of the Fascists from Novgorod, 1944-6, Oil on Canvas, 78 x 90 in., Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow (Kukryniksy work)

- p. 265, The End, 1948, Oil on Canvas, 79 x 99 in., Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow (Kukryniksy work)