Nicolai Trunov
Russian (born 1924)
Nicolai Aleexievich Trunov was born in Nikolskoe Village in the Voronezh Region of Russia in 1924. He became a student at the Voronezh Art College at the age of 17. The college was temporarily closed at the on set of World War II, and Nicolai moved to the Zemliask region where he continued to pursue his studies in painting and drawing. At one point during the war, Trunov was living in a town that was occupied by the Germans. He was ambushed and interrogated by German soldiers out on patrol. When they learned he was an artist, they asked him to do portraits of them to send back home to their families. Trunov later said of the incident that he was hardly in a position to refuse. Trunov was heavily influenced by the French Impressionists, as can be seen from several of his paintings included in ìTradition Rediscovered: The Lyle Finley Collection of Russian Art.î His works can also be found in several galleries and private collections in the USA. He is a member of the Russian ArtistÃÂs Union, and he still exhibits regularly. His paintings are in the permanent collection of the Kromskoi Museum and several public buildings in Voronezh.