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Anniversary of the Well-Known Don Artist

On July, 5, it was the 90^th anniversary of the Honoured Artist of Russia, Irina Alexeyevna Charskaya. Her art is closely connected with the Donside, with the name of Mikhail Alexandrovich Sholokhov.

Entering upon her artistic career, when a student of the Leningrad I.E.Repin Institute of Arts, she made a series of illustrations for Sholokhov’s epic novel “The Quiet Don”. The theme was very familiar to her, a daughter of a Don Cossack, besides, she visited Stanitsa Vyoshenskaya several times late in the 1940-s – early in the 1950-s.

Later, having become a Graphic artist she illustrated the works by M.Lermontov, A.Tolstoy, M.Twain and other classic writers not leaving off the Don theme. In 1970 the Rostov artist was awarded the Diploma of the contest “The Best Book of the Don” for the series of illustrations for the novel by A.Kalinin “A Gypsy”.

The collection of the National M.A.Sholokhov Museum-Reserve contains about a hundred works by I.A.Charskaya. All they either illustrate the plots of “The Quiet Don” and “Virgin Soil Upturned” or show the nature and people of the country of Vyoshenskaya. They are made with a great skill and are regularly exposed at the Museum travelling exhibitions.

The museum-workers send their sincere congratulations and the best wishes of vigour and good health to Irina Alexeyevna on her anniversary.

Alexey Kochetov