Artist biography
Pyotr Maltsev
1907- 1993 Born 17 December 1907 in Mariupol of Ekaterinoslav province, Pyotr Tarasovich Maltsev was a many awarded Soviet artist working in the genre of socialist realism. A member of the USSR Union of Artists (1932), Honored Artist of the RSFSR (1958) and People’s Artist of the RSFSR (1968). Pyotr Maltsev graduated from the Zaporozhe Art School (1921-1924), workshop of V.N. Nevsky. After that, he studied at the monumental department of the fine art faculty of VKhUTEIN (1924-1930). His teachers were famous Soviet artists P.V. Kuznetsov, V.A. Favorsky, L.A. Bruni, and N.M. Chernyshev. While still a student, Maltsev began participating in the exhibitions of Soviet art (1928). During the Great Patriotic War, Maltsev served as an artist of the cultural enlightenment department of the Northern Fleet. He was awarded the Order of the Red Star and other medals. In 1949, he joined the Studio of Military Artists of M.B.Grekov. He was awarded with the first degree diploma and the gold medal of the USSR Academy of Arts (1960) for creating the diorama, “Sturm of Sapun-Mountain” (1959). Also, he received the gold medal of M.B.Grekov (1968) for participation in the reconstruction of the panorama of F.Rubo, “The Battle of Borodino” (1967). Pyotr Tarasovich Maltsev – Laureate of the State Prize of the RSFSR for the diorama “Combat of the airborne landing near Vyazma in the winter of 1942”. Awarded the Honorary Medal of the Soviet Peace Foundation (1982) for his participation in the creation of the panorama “Battle of Stalingrad”. The most notable works of the artist: “Guardships in the Campaign” (1947), “The Feat of the Red Fleet Ivan Golubtsa” (1946),”Assault of Sapun-Gory” (1958), “Teaching at the Red Banner Black Sea Fleet” (1968), and “Combat Air Strike near Vyazma in the Winter of 1942” (1970). Besides, he was the author of several dioramas (with co-authors). In particular, “Alpine campaign of Suvorov” (1952), “Sturm of Sapun (1958), “Forcing the Dnieper in Pereyaslav-Khmelnitsky” (1975), and the panorama “The Battle of Stalingrad” (1980-82). Pyotr Tarasovich died on October 5, 1993 (Moscow). His works are in the State Tretyakov Gallery, the Central Museum of the Armed Forces (Moscow), the Central Naval Museum (St. Petersburg), the Suvorov Museum (St. Petersburg), and the Donetsk Art Museum. He is listed in Matthew Bown's, A Dictionary of Twentieth Century Russian and Soviet Painters.