In the late 19th century, traditional Russian culture enjoyed a revival. Among the artists to reimagine his country’s idealized past was Konstantin Makovsky, the subject of a new monograph survey at Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens in Washington, D.C. (February 13 to June 12). Organized by Wilfried Zeisler, Hillwood’s associate curator of nineteenth-century art, Wendy Salmond, professor of art and art history at Chapman University and Russell E. Martin, professor of history at Westminster College, “Konstantin Makovsky: The Tsar’s Painter” explores the artist’s career and popularity in Russia and America. The Moscow-born son of an amateur painter and a composer, Makovsky briefly joined the Wanderers, a group of social realists who left St. Petersburg’s Academy of Arts. Choosing security, he became a professor at the Academy and launched a successful career with his flattering portraits of Russian high society. After the death of his first wife, Makovsky traveled to Egypt Read More