Grigoriy Andreivich Shponko 1926-2006, Russian artist

I picked up several paintings by this Russian artist maybe ten years ago. I've always been a sucker for clothesline scenes and got a bit hooked after picking that one up. A large quantity of his work ended up on ebay after his death from a Russian estate liquidator. Shponko had a definite style which I like and these were pretty inexpensive.

Grigoriy Andreivich Shponko was born in 1926 at Balky, Zaporogsky, Ukraine. He attended the Kiev Art Institute (now the National Academy of Art and Architecture) where he studied under Professors Trofimenko, M. Sharanov, E. Konstantin, and G. Melikov. After graduating in 1954, he became a member of the Union of Artists of the Ukraine upon the recommendation of Tatyana Yablonskaya. Shponko received the "Merited Artist of the Ukraine" award. He assisted in the restoration of Rubo's Sevastopol Panorama and was later a scene painter in the Kiev Opera and Ballet Theater under Anatoli Petritskogo.

Shponko typically painted in the Socialist Realist style. He exhibited his work at several Ukrainian and Union of Artists exhibitions in the Ukraine and Moscow. He is well known for painting industrial scenes. His works are in the collections of several museums, including the Nikolayev Art Museum, Kiev Historical Museum, Dnipropetrovsk Fine Art Museum, and the Donetsk Fine Arts Museum. His work has appeared in several books and magazines including the Moscow "Arts" magazine and the Kiev "Ukraine" magazine.

Shponko is listed in Davenport's Art Reference and Price Guide and Russian and Soviet Painters 1900-1980 by Matthew Cullerne Brown. He is also mentioned in on line sites like AskArt and ArtPrice.
Shponko died in December 2006 in Kiev.

http://oknasocrealisma.com/authors/shponko-grigory-andreevich/

unnamed, Grigoriy Andreivich Shponko, 18.5" x 10", oil on card
unnamed, Grigoriy Andreivich Shponko, 11" x 14", oil on thick paper
unnamed, Grigoriy Andreivich Shponko, 15" x 10", oil on card
unnamed, Grigoriy Andreivich Shponko, 11" x 14.5", oil on card