013 - Portrait of Evgeny Rukhin by Galina Popova (1977?)

Not technically "my old shit", this painting belongs to my mother, who purchased it in 1976 or 1977 from an "underground" gallery in Moscow of the then Soviet Union. It is most likely a portrait of Evgeny (Eugene?) Rukhin done by his wife, Galina Popova, though Mom always thought it was a sly way of doing an image of Christ in an anti-religious communist country. Evgeny died in a fire in 1976 under mysterious circumstances, after several repressive run ins with Soviet authorities.

Unknown Title - Portrait of Eugene Rukhin by Galina Popova (1977?)

Though there are many articles about the paintings on her husband, there's no mention that I can find about Galina's work (other than jewelery and crafts done after her immigration to the U.S.). I've been searching for information about this piece for a few years, and have contacted her son, though no further information has yet been forthcoming. This painting was always prominently displayed in our home during my growing years, though I don't know if it had any influence on my own work.

It is a heavily textured painting over fabric (that red and white is actual fabric, not paint), and makes use of something like a wood block stamp (see detail of upper left corner, below) of what appears to be some Christian iconography. I never cared to learn the lingo for properly waxing bullshit over art, so there's not much more I can say about this. It's always struck me as a very powerful piece.


Her husband's works are valued in the tens of thousands. Who knows? This portrait by a mourning wife could be equally valuable...