<P>This painting was at Pushkin Gallery in Santa Fe. I don't know who the artist is, other than that they are Russian. I just thought it was really beautiful

Ooh, can I have one? The painting, I mean.

Trying to remember his name from my days working in an art gallery. If I am correct:<P>He was one of the official artists of the Bolshoi Ballet; exhibited his work at the USA International Ballet Competition (Jackson, MS); now lives in New Orleans; and has done a number of series based on American ballet companies. <P>I know he has a gallery in Santa Fe that represents his work. Should remember his name about 3:30 A.M. the next day or so.

Okay - my guess is: Valery Kosorukov.<P>(okay - it is a qualified guess - I don't remember his ballerinas ever being quite so...........ummmmmm, all of his could play the accordion.<p>[This message has been edited by wordfox (edited January 16, 2002).]

O.k, Wordfox. You work on that, stay up really late until you come up with it, and call Azlan on the phone and wake him up to tell him. I think you mean Valery Kosorukov, but it doesn't look quite like his style.

LOL, Wordfox! Accordion, indeed! Looks like we posted at the same time.

<P>Here is a painting by Kosorukov of Maximova and Vasilyev, and a link to his site <A HREF="http://www.kosorukov.com" TARGET=_blank>http://www.kosorukov.com</A>

In case you are interested, there was an artist from Budapest whose paintings of ballerinas were somewhat similar, very, shall we say, lush. His name was Pal Fried and you can often see his work listed on Ebay. <BR>My favorite painter of ballerinas is still alive as far as I know. His name is Guan Ze-Ju, and his paintings are available in San Francisco. I can't remember the name of the gallery, but it is on the waterfront, not too far from, and on the same side of the street as, the Tall Ships Museum. I understand his wife is a dancer and his paintings are really lovely. When I'm in SF I always visit that gallery to see if he has done any new ones. <P>

Maggie - the gallery I worked in on Royal Street showed Valery's work - but only his nudes. (Calm down Azlan)<P>One of his galleries in New Mexico shows only his landscapes; and another group of galleries showed only his ballet paintings.<P>Interesting character. And his nudes are definitely more ..... lush than his dancers.