Utkin Pyotr Savvich

Pyotr Savvich Utkin was a painter, graphic artist, landscape and still-life master, and book illustrator. He studied at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture under A. E. Arkhipov and I. I. Levitan. In 1902, together with P. Kuznetsov and K. S. Petrov-Vodkin, he executed murals for the Church of the Kazan Mother of God in Saratov. He participated in the 'Alla Rosa' exhibition (1904) and was a member of the 'Blue Rose', 'World of Art', and '4 Arts' groups. He worked prolifically in book illustration, designing for the 'Golden Fleece' magazine and books by Andrei Bely. From 1909, he spent seven years working on the decorative design of Ya. E. Zhukovsky's villa in Crimea.