ZVEREV Anatoly Timofeevich

November 3, 1931 (Moscow) — December 9, 1986 (Moscow)

Painter, graphic artist

Zverev studied at Moscow Art College in the Memory of the Year 1905 (in 1954). He was expelled from the College. He developed as an artist independently; his education was at the halls of the Tretyakov Gallery and the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts. Since 1957 he began to participate in different exhibitions.

The first person who discovered the talent of Zverev was the collector and connoisseur of art A. Rumnev. Later, from 1959 till 1964, the artist collaborated with the famous Moscow collector G. D. Costakis.

In 1957 Zverev was awarded gold medal at the 6th World Festival of Youth and Students within the International workshop of plastic arts.

Zverev took part in many important exhibitions in Russia and abroad, including:
1967 — exhibition of works by 12 Moscow artists (club Druzhba (“Friendship”), Moscow); exhibition of painting and graphic art from the collection of A. Gleser (Tbilisi);
1970 — exhibition Nouve correnti a Mosca (Museo Belle Arti, Legano, Switzerland);
1974 — exhibition Progressive Strömungen in Moskau 1957–1970 (Museum Bochum, Bochum, FRG);
1975 — exhibition at the pavilions Apiculture and House of Culture at the Exhibition of Achievements of the National Economy (VDNKh), Moscow;
1991 — exhibition Other art. Moscow. 1956-76 (the State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow);
1995 — exhibition of works from the collection of Alexander Gleser (the Museum of private collections, the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow);
1996 — Nonconformists — the Second Russian Avant-garde 1955–1988. From the collection of Y. Bar-Gera (the State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow);

Since 1976 Zverev participated in the exhibitions of Moscow joint committee of graphic artists (MOKKhG) at 28, Malaya Gruzinskaya Street in Moscow.

Since 1967 Zverev exposed his works at many exhibitions abroad, including the exhibitions in the Museum of Modern Art (New York, 1967), the Museum of Contemporary Russian Art (Montgeron, France: 1979, 1981, 1985), the Museum of Soviet Unofficial Art (Jersey City, USA: 1980, 1981, 1982) and others.

The first personal exhibition of the artist was held in 1965 at the Galerie Motte in Paris, then — in Geneva; the exhibitions were organized by Igor Makarevich. More than 20 personal exhibitions of Zverev’s works were held in different museums and galleries, including Saratov State Art Museum named after A. N. Radishchev (Saratov, 1991), the Museum of private collections under the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts  (Moscow, 1994), the State Tretyakov Gallery (Moscow, 1999), and the State Historical Museum (Moscow, 2003).

Zverev was the first Russian expressionist of the 20th century and the intermediary between early and late avant-garde in Russian art. During his work the artist used technique of three colors. He painted romantic still lifes, portraits, trunks of trees and many others things. He always said that true artist always could paint even if he had no paints, the artist could be able to paint with a piece of earth or clay. Zverev painted a lot, painted everywhere and everything that he saw around him.
George Costakis