Staraya Ladoga House of Creativity

The House of Creativity "Staraya Ladoga" was an all-Russian centre for artistic creativity, which existed in the Volkhovsky District of Leningrad Oblast from the mid-20th century up to the 1990s. It was located opposite the ancient village of Staraya Ladoga on the right bank of the Volkhov River.

History
After the origination of the Leningrad Union of Soviet Artists, a question about the foundation of a house for vacation and creativity was stated. For this purpose in 1935, some accommodations were allocated in the Leningrad suburb Gatchina. The restoration of them began in 1936, but World War II intervened in it. Gatchina was occupied for almost three years during World War II. The Gatchina Palace was destroyed and the house for vacation and creativity, too. In February 1945, it was the second attempt of the foundation of this one. The ex-estate of the prince Nikolay Shakhovskoy in Staraya Ladoga was given up to Leningrad artists as a base zone for the rest and creative work.

It was a good choice. Staraya Ladoga has always been drawing attention of Russian painters by the ancient barrows, architectural monuments and romantic views of the Volkhov River. There were the artists Ivan Aivazovsky, Orest Kiprensky, Aleksander Orłowski, I.A. Ivanov, Alexey Venetsianov and many others in the nineteenth century. A future member of the Imperial Academy of Arts and the Peredvizhniki group Vassily Maximov was born and laid to rest there. He portrayed scenes from an everyday life of peasants.

Renowned artist Nicholas Roerich painted his sketches there during the summer of 1899. He named this landscape the best of the Russian one. He wrote that a feeling of ancient Motherland could overfill the viewer when directing the look at Staraya Ladoga. Valentin Serov, Konstantin Korovin, Boris Kustodiev also worked there. Alexander Samokhvalov was in Staraya Ladoga many times in 1924–26. He took part in the restoration of St. George's Church. That experience gave a great deal to this artist: it helped him to understand the effect of joining a monumental painting with the architectural forms. He painted his Staraya Ladoga (1924) and Family of Fisherman (1926, Russian Museum) there.

The restoring works continued 15 years since 1946, meanwhile Leningrad artists began to work in Staraya Ladoga since 1940s. Primarily artists stayed at the native country houses. The most popular was a house of an old woman Tatyana Egorovna, whose portrait we can find in numerous canvases. Many years this place was a plentiful source of inspiration for such artist as Sergei Osipov, Gleb Savinov, Nikolai Timkov, Arseny Semionov and also for many others.

As an important center of the art life of Russia for 30 years a House of Creativity "Staraya Ladoga" began to work permanently in the beginning of 1960s after the finish of the restoration. Such artists as Evsey Moiseenko, Alexander Samokhvalov, Vecheslav Zagonek, Vladimir Ovchinnikov, Boris Ugarov, Boris Shamanov, Vsevolod Bazhenov, Piotr Buchkin, Zlata Bizova, Taisia Afonina, Marina Kozlovskaya, Dmitry Maevsky, Alexander Semionov, Arseny Semionov, Vladimir Sakson, Gleb Savinov, Elena Zhukova, Sergei Zakharov, Ivan Varichev, Veniamin Borisov, Valery Vatenin, Ivan Godlevsky, Vladimir Krantz, Lazar Yazgur, Irina Dobrekova, Pyotr Fomin and many other Leningrad and other regions painters and graphic artists worked there.

In 1970-1980 a House of Creativity was widening, the new buildings were built. They used it a whole-year. A dwelling there for 1–2 months was without any payment for the artists. All commitments on accommodation, meals and journeys took the Art Foundation of Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic.

Paintings created there or based on the studies initiated by these places reached all genres painting and first of all landscape. Among them ''Volkhov River. Last Snow (1967) by Nikolai Timkov, Volhov. Windy Day (1964) by Leonid Whyshla, At the Volhov River (1967) by Nikolai Furmankov, St. George's Cathedral. Staraya Ladoga (1965), Spring is Coming (1972) by Vladimir Ovchinnikov, Spring on the Volkhov River (1968) by Lazar Yazgur, Memoires (1969) by Irina Dobrekova, Chernavino Village (1968), White Night over the Volkhov River (1979) by Dmitry Belyaev, Street in Staraya Ladoga (1962), Staraya Ladoga (1964), At the Volkhov River (1964) by Ivan Varichev, At the Volkhov River'' (1965) by Boris Ugarov, and other.

The paintings were exposed in the largest exhibitions in 1960-1980s. and later in retrospective exhibitions of Soviet art. The main museums, Russian and foreign collectors became owners of this painting. Also it became a base of an extensive fount of painting, graphics and sculpture of the museum "Staraya Ladoga".

Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union and liquidation of the Art Foundation at the beginning of the 1990s, the House of Creativity lost its financial support and was closed. Since 2003, when the 1250th anniversary of Staraya Ladoga was celebrated, public efforts to revive it have been intensified.