Old Lyme resident Barbara Shriver is presenting an art collection “Art Under Siege” at the Sill House Gallery on the campus of the Lyme Academy of Fine Arts through June 19. The unique collection of Ukrainian art spans the period from 1945-2001, featuring more than 50 pieces collected by Barbara during the time she and her husband, Dick, lived in Ukraine.

The Shrivers lived and worked in Ukraine from the last days of the Soviet Union and the 10 years following Ukraine’s independence, from 1990-2001. A significant portion of the artwork was acquired from a portfolio of art from 1945-1990, with portraits and scenes from Crimea to Kyiv and the countryside in between. Unless they embraced the prescribed rules for official Soviet art, dissident artists were persecuted and harassed in various ways, including being prevented from purchasing essential materials such as paints and canvases.

Most of the artists were trained at the Kyiv Art Institute. They were not allowed to travel outside Ukraine but they were very much aware of the vast art world outside of Ukraine.

Artists highlighted in the exhibition include Victor Zaretsky, a remarkable figure of Ukrainian Socialist Realism and Soviet Nonconformist Art who was influenced by Gustav Klimt. Works of art by L’viv’s Miskevich, known as the self-styled “Andy Warhol of Ukraine,” are also featured. Included in the significant collection are unique woodworking pieces, painted eggs, fabrics and handmade jewelry.

According to Barbara, “To me, much of this art reflects the impact of the form of government on how artists paint. Those paintings made under Soviet tyranny are quite different from paintings produced in an independent Ukraine.”

A gallery opening took place on Sunday, June 5 at the Sill House Gallery, raising $10,000 towards the fundraising efforts. The Lyme Academy of Fine Arts has donated the gallery space, their share of the proceeds of the sale of the artwork along with the installation of this special exhibit. Paintings for sale range from $300 to $5,000, and memorabilia ranges from $5 to $100.

The ‘Art Under Siege’ exhibition can be viewed in the Sill House Gallery from noon to 4 p.m. through June 19. Two-thirds of the proceeds from the sale of artwork will be contributed to Ukrainian charities including the Ukrainian Catholic University (based in L’viv, Ukraine) and its program for refugees from the war, and the Boyarsky Orphanage with 88 small children who were was forced to flee the Kyiv region earlier this year, and relocated to Utsk, Poland.

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