‘Monumental’ paintings from the era of the Soviet Union dating from the 1920s to the early 1990s – all from a single collection and chronicling some of the most turbulent years of the 20th century – have recently come to light in the Cotswolds.
The works feature larger than life-size portraits of Vladimir Lenin, founder of the Soviet Union, as well as a scene of ‘Bolsheviks Storming the Winter Palace’ in 1917, and a painting of Soviet troops having ‘A rest after battle’ during World War Two.
The large-scale painting will go up for sale at Wotton Auction Rooms in Wotton-under-Edge next week.
Auction, Valuer and Managing Director Joseph Trinder said: “It’s a rather remarkable single-owner collection of works on a monumental scale depicting the Soviet political and ideological nature.
“They are essentially works of propaganda that were put together to communicate the ideas and principles of the Soviet era and to promote Lenin and his vision.
“Three of the featured paintings in the forthcoming sale are from the Socialist Realist School, established in the 1930s. One of the pieces shows the Bolsheviks storming the Winter Palace during the Russian Revolution of 1917. Another shows Soviet Troops relaxing on the battlefield in World War Two.
“The paintings would have been displayed publicly and were essentially civic works. They would have been displayed in spaces where they were meant to imbue viewers with the ideals of the Communist message.”
Mr Trinder said the paintings will be sold as separate lots and estimates on their value range from £200 to several thousand pounds depending on the scale and subject matter. They will go under the hammer next Tuesday and Wednesday, February 25th and 26th.
A further selection of paintings from the days of the Soviet Union will feature in the sale rooms’ March sale.
