Welcome to The McCarthey Gallery

The Thomas Kearns McCarthey Gallery is one of the foremost dealers in the United States dealing with Russian Impressionistic art.  The Gallery maintains an extensive inventory of collectible works by Russia's most respected artists during the period of 1930 to 1980.  The Gallery carefully selects paintings that are historically significant, original in composition, interesting in form and beautiful in their depiction of the human spirit.  We have been working in Russia for many years and have developed close personal relationships with many of the artists and their families.  Together with our associated gallery in Russia, Dacha Art, and our Russian partners, we maintain extremely close ties with the arts community in Russia and the former Soviet republics.  In addition to our Russian specialization, the TKM Gallery is proud to work with talented artists from other countries who have the spirit of the Russian art.

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Farewell to Summer Silent Auction!

Butko, Victor Nikolaevich
"Noon"
23½'' x 39¼'', (60 x 100 cm)
1997, Oil on Canvas, Framed
Estimated at $6,000 to $7,000, The Current Bid is $1,250 by J. Sutton

This month we present as our Farewell to Summer Silent Auction painting a work by one of Russia's most talented up and coming artists Victor Nikolaevich Butko. Victor is a long time friend of the gallery and scion of a great family of Russian artists. He is the heir to a legacy of greatness in Russian Impressionistic art studying at the Academic Dacha under some of the great masters Alexei and Sergei Tkachev and Grigory Chainikov. Butko paints in the tradition of his ancestors, with exquisite artistry and sensitivity, portraying the special beauty of his country's landscape and its people.

Victor is the next generation of Russian Impressionistic artists and his paintings are ripe for the seasoned collector. We at the McCarthey Gallery are thrilled to present Victor Nikolaevich BUTKO'S painting "Noon" as our auction selection. Estimated at $6.000 to $7,000 the current bid is just $1,250.

Victor N. Butko B. 1978

Viktor Butko was born in 1978 in Moscow, into a family of artists. He often visited the studio of his grandfather, the famous artist Victor Chulovich, and watched the creation of paintings. As you may imagine, this has inspired him to start painting. Viktor's first steps in art were directed by his grandfather and his parents, artists Nickolay Butko and Marina Chulovich, he then studied at the Moscow Art School, which is known for a high level of training. After completing his training at the art school, Butko painted at the Academic Dacha of Artists, created by the great Russian artist Ilya Repin for students of the Academy of Fine Arts. There he worked under the guidance of famous artists Alexey Gritsai and Tkachev brothers, which had a major impact on his creativity.

Viktor's first solo show was held in the United States, in 2002 at the McCarthey Gallery, one of the foremost dealers in the United States for Russian Impressionist art. This marked the beginning of a long cooperation with the gallery. Later, in 2016, He took part in an international plein air event, which was organized by American painter Ben Fenske and art dealer Laura Grenning. As a result of this Russian-American Painting Alliance a large exhibition was held in the Grenning Gallery in Sag Harbor. His work is in the Vyshniy Volochek Museum collection, Collection of the IRRA and private collections in Russia, China and the U.S. Butko regularly paints in Sag Harbor and Maine as well as Russia and Italy and is represented by the Grenning Gallery, gWatson Gallery, Williams Fine Art and the McCarthey Gallery. He lives with his wife, Kelly Carmody, in Waltham Massachusetts, where they paint and teach in and around their studio.

Older Russian impressionist artists, Alexei and Sergei Tkachev (they are brothers) claim Butko's work is the ....next generation of greatness.

We invite you to participate in this month's auction and thank everyone who placed bids 's last month. This is a rare opportunity to add a beautiful work by a highly acclaimed artist to your collection.

Estimated at $6,000 to $7,000 the current high bid is just 1,250! The next bid is $1,500, followed by minimum bidding increments of $250. Remember, there is no reserve, at the end of the auction the high bid wins!

Bids will be taken via telephone, or e-mail until 7:00 pm MST, Wednesday September 15th. Follow all the bidding updates on the Gallery's website.

Note that you may place a maximum bid and the Gallery will bid on your behalf up to your maximum. By placing a maximum bid, you will be assured you are not out bid at the last minute.

About the Artist

The Thomas Kearns McCarthey Gallery is pleased and honored to be able to represent the work of Victor N. Butko, scion of a great family of Russian artists. In the tradition of his ancestors, Butko paints with exquisite artistry and sensitivity, portraying the special beauty of his country's landscape and its people.

Victor Nikolaevich Butko is the youngest Russian artist the Thomas Kearns McCarthey Gallery has ever represented. We are proud to have his art in our gallery, as Victor is the heir to a legacy of greatness in Russian Impressionistic art. It was almost five years ago that legendary Russian artists Alexei and Sergei Tkachev introduced us to Victor Butko. The Tkachevs have known Victor since he was a child. Butko comes from an family of artists. Victor's grandfather and mother have received many honors as artists and they participated in exhibitions around the world. Young Butko spent summers at the family country house at the village of Academic Dacha. The Academic Dacha is half way between St. Petersburg and Moscow and has been a summer painting refuge for generations of Russian artists. That is where, at eight years of age, Butko was first noticed by the grand patriarch brothers of Russian Impressionism. The Tkachevs closely followed the development and career of Victor guiding and mentoring him along the way.

Read More on Victor N. Butko.....

Russian & Soviet Impressionism
Russia's Rich Cultural Heritage

Russia's rich cultural heritage represents the best of human creativity. Its literature, music, visual and performing arts and architecture are among the most profound, compelling and beautiful expressions of the human spirit.

Much of this rich heritage is well known in the United States, such as the writing of Leo Tolstoy and Fyodor Dostoevsky, the music of Peter Tchaikovsky, Serge Prokofiev and Igor Stravinsky, the painting of Ilya Repin and Vassily Kadinsky, the architecture of the Kremlin and State Hermitage Museum and the dance of the Bolshoi Ballet.

Less well known in this tradition of creativity is the painting of the Russian Impressionist period, lasting from approximately 1930 to 1980. Russian Impressionism made an important contribution to the cultural heritage of Russia, but until recently, little has been known of its beauty and quality and its leading artists because of Soviet isolationism. During this period much of the cultural life in the Communist Soviet Union was denied Western exposure. The demise of Communism, the lifting of the Iron Curtain and the movement towards freedom and democracy of the newly formed Commonwealth of Independent States has allowed the world the opportunity to experience a unique and important historical past through the art work.

It is now being collected and recognized by art historians, museum directors, curators and collectors as some of the best art produced in the twentieth century. 

"Soviet Impressionism"- Vern G. Swanson

From a unique set of circumstances that would be impossible to duplicate, Soviet Art from 1930 to 1980 was the 20th century's major realist school of painting. It powerfully expresses itself with a simple clarity of pictorial language, consummate adeptness and truthful portrayal of life. The Soviet artist acted as a willing collaborator with and portrayer of the aspirations of society. This contrasted with Western models where artists were typically alienated from their community. Acceptance will come, using the Soviet phrase, because it is "historically inevitable". It is already to a certain extent here with the pictures from the period increasingly passing through the sale rooms of Europe and North America. This book should give wider understanding of this underrated but artistically exciting movement in Soviet art.

Read more about Russian Impressionism...