Polenov was an active participant of the Abramtsevo circle: in 1879 he designed the performance Two worlds by A. N. Maikov, he composed music to this performance and played the leading part in it. In 1880 Polenov took part in design of Abramtsevo church interior.

In 1881–1882 Polenov made his first journey to the East: Egypt, Syria, and Palestine. He visited Greece in connection with his work on the painting Christ and the sinner.

In 1882–1895 Polenov taught at Moscow School of painting, sculpture and architecture. In 1883 he designed the performance The Scarlet Rose by S. Mamontov.

In 1883–1884 Polenov worked on the sketches and studies for the painting Christ and the sinner in Rome. In 1885 he exposed his series of sketches from the trip to the East in 1881–1882 at the 13th exhibition of the Society of Travelling Art Exhibitions (TPKhV).

In 1885 Polenov designed the opera Uriel Acosta by V. S. Serova in the Bolshoi Theatre, opera Faust by Ch. Gounod and Falstaff by G. Verdi in the S. Mamontov’s Russian private opera in Moscow. In 1887 Polenov exposed the painting Christ and the sinner at the 15th exhibition of the TPKhV.

In 1890–1892 Polenov purchased the estate Bekhovo on the Oka River and built manor house upon his own project. There were collection of the works of decorative and applied arts, archaeological collection, and picture gallery including works of Polenov, his friends and students, open to the public. In 1893–1900s the artist exposed his landscapes at the exhibitions of Moscow Association of Artists.

In 1894 Polenov created scene design for the living painting Aphrodite, staged at the first congress of artists. In 1895 he worked on the painting Among the teachers in Rome. In 1897–1898 he made scene designs to the opera Orpheus and Eurydice by K. Gluck in the Russian private opera. In 1899 Polenov made second trip to the East, where he drew sketches to the cycle of paintings From the life of Christ.

In 1890–1900s Polenov worked on the paintings of the cycle From the life of Christ. At that time he composed religious music compositions Vespers and Liturgy. In 1902 he created a project of murals for the Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow. In 1903 Polenov designed a church in the village Bekhovo (built in 1906). In 1904 Polenov built workshop Abbey upon his own project in Borka. In 1906 musicians amateurs performed the opera The Ghosts of Ellas on music by Polenov and libretto by S. I. Mamontov in the Great Hall of Moscow Conservatory.

In 1907 Polenov traveled through cities of Germany and Italy. In 1909–1910 exhibitions of the cycle of paintings From the life of Christ were held in Prague, St. Petersburg, Moscow, and other cities of Russia. In 1910–1911 he made a trip to the cities of Germany, France, Spain, and Greece. In 1914 exhibition of the cycle of paintings From the life of Christ was organized in Moscow; proceeds from this exhibition were transferred in favor of the wounded in the First World War.

In 1915 the house for the Section for the assistance of factory’s and village theatres (since 1921 — the House of public education named after academician V. D. Polenov) was built in Moscow upon the project of Polenov. In 1920–1921 Polenov created 65 little pictures about world tour for the theatre-diorama in Borka. In 1924 the first personal exhibition of Polenov’s works was held in the State Tretyakov Gallery. In 1926 Polenov was conferred the title of people’s artist.

V. D. Polenov was famous for his compositions on biblical subjects and landscapes. In his paintings on evangelical subjects he tried to reconsider traditional interpretation and to raise a problem of morality. Polenov followed the traditions of lyric landscape of A. K. Savrasov and F. A. Vasiliev. Polenov considered sketch as an independent artwork. His conception had a profound influence on the work of painters of future generation.

Works by Vasily Polenov are in the collections of the State Tretyakov Gallery, the State Russian Museum, the V. D. Polenov’s State Museum–Reserve, the State Museum–Reserve Abramtsevo, the A. A. Bakhrushin State Central Theatre Museum, Nizhny Novgorod State Art Museum, Voronezh Regional Art Museum, Saratov State Art museum, Serpukhov History and Art Museum, Kiev Museum of Russian Art and others.