Illustrations for fairy tales by Alexander Mikhailovich Kurkin (70 works)

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Alexander Mikhailovich was born in 1916 on the Sibilev farm in the Glubokinsky district of the Rostov region. Besides him, the family had four brothers and a sister. Don Cossacks respected literate and cultured villagers. However, they believed that it was safer if children received some kind of working profession. So it happened that Alexander Kurkin, who passionately wanted to become an artist, began studying at the railway workers' school in the city of Kamensk, Rostov region.

He was a capable student, but did not feel complete satisfaction from his studies. He was drawn to drawing. A dream come true. And in 1935 he became a student at the Palekh Art School. Alexander Mikhailovich studied with great desire. Even during the summer holidays I did not part with my sketchbook.

A.M. Kurkin came to work at the Palekh art workshops in 1940. However, soon, in April 1941, he was drafted into the Red Army. And in June the war began. And only five years later, with military awards, Alexander Mikhailovich returned to Palekh, to his favorite work.
The war left its mark on the work of the young master. In 1946, he wrote the work “The Feat of Alexander Matrosov.”

The basis of many of his compositions of those years were plots from famous patriotic and lyrical songs: “Tachanka”, “Our Cossacks are driving, driving through Berlin”, “Eaglet”, “An order was given to him to go to the West”, “Kakhovka”, “Holy War”, “In the vastness of the wonderful Motherland”, “Evenings near Moscow”. Along with the song-heroic theme of A.M. Kurkin dedicated many of his compositions to the Motherland, to the free and joyful work of Soviet people. His works on the themes “Labor in the USSR is a matter of honor, valor and heroism”, “Presentation of the act for the eternal use of land”, “For a peaceful life”, “The sunny distances are open for us”, “Elections are our national holiday” represented Palekh at many domestic and foreign exhibitions.

At the fourth exhibition "Soviet Russia" his casket "Quiet Don" was exhibited. This work is especially dear to Alexander Mikhailovich. A native of the vast steppe expanses of the Don, the artist in the colors of Palekh glorified the life of the Don Cossacks.

The artist also tried his hand at the art of theatrical productions. In 1960, together with artists G.M. Melnikov, A.V. Borunov, V.V. Bolshakov and V.N. Smirnov, he designed the play “The Little Red Devils” at the Moscow Drama Theater named after N.V. Gogol. Under the leadership of N.M. Parilova Kurkin painted the scenery for the opera "The Golden Cockerel" for the Saratov Theater.

Alexander Mikhailovich also works in the field of monumental painting. As part of a team of artists, he participated in painting a frieze for a restaurant-cafe in the village of Arkhangelskoye near Moscow.

The publishing house "Music" released the songbook "Boldly We Will Go into Battle" with his illustrations, and the publishing house "Soviet Artist" released a set of songs and postcards "For the Power of the Soviets."

Several books were published in the 70s, designed by Alexander Mikhailovich: “Russian Folk Tales”, “The Tale of the Golden Cockerel”, “The Tale of the Dead Princess”, “The Tale of Tsar Saltan”.

The miniaturist's works are exhibited in the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg, in the museum of A.S. Pushkin in Moscow, in the art museums of Kostroma, Yaroslavl, Ivanovo, Orenburg, Rostov-on-Don, Palekh.