Taras Shevchenko - Kateryna

Taras Shenchenko (1814-1861) - Katerina (1842)
Russa USSR Stamp issued 1979

Shevchenko is known as the founding father of Ukrainian modern literature and language, more that his talent as an artist.  He was born into serfdom, but when his talents were discovered, the famous poet Vasily Zhukovsky bought him out of serfdom in 1838.  This portrait depicts Katerina, who was a key figure in one of his most famous poems.  She was a serf girl, who was seduced, abandoned and disgraced by a Russian soldier in the poem.  Shevchenko's art crosses between folk art and realism.

Kyriak Kostandi - Among the People

Kyriak Kostandi (1852-1921) - Among the People (1885)
Russia USSR Stamp Issued 1979
Painting Held at the National Art Museum of Ukraine

This is typical of the realistic genre paintings completed by Kostandi throughout his career.  A young peasant girl looks out the window of a crowded train, to a wider world.  There is a sense of tiredness to the girl and uncertainty in the painting overall - although the girl is among a lot of people on the train, she is the only one in the painting.  It captures a moment in time.

Kostandi was born in a town near Odessa, but he learnt his artistic trade in St Petersburg, where he went on to become a founding member of the Society of South Russian Artists.

Aleksandr M. Lopuhov - To Petrograd

Aleksandr Lopuhov - To Petrograd

USSR Stamp Issued in 1979

Painting completed 1953

I'm guessing that this patriotic Russian painting depicts Lenin on the way to Petrograd (now St Petersburg) prior to the October Revolution which brought him to power.  This painting was completed in the year that Stalin died, while the stamp was issued in 1979 at the height of the Cold War.

Arthur Streeton - From MacMahons Point One Penny Fare

Arthur Streeton (1867-1943) - From MacMahons Point One Penny Fare (1890)

Australia $5 Stamp Issued 1979

Held at the National Gallery of Australia Canberra

This painting is set on one of the most beautiful parts of Australia - on the shores of Sydney Harbour.  This painting captures McMahons Point at a time when it was remote to the city of Sydney, only linked by a ferry service.  The 1930s saw the completion of the Sydney Harbour bridge and this part of Sydney's north shore is now densely developed -  but it is still possible to catch a ferry into Sydney.

Streeton is one of Australia's best loved artists from the Heidelberg school in Melbourne.  He was associated with other great artists, including Tom Roberts and Frederick McCubbin.  They were influenced by the impressionist movement, particularly Turner, which swept through Europe before being taken up in Australia.  Australia's abundance of light and clear skies proved to provide these artists with fertile grounds to make their mark on Australian art history at this time.