Grigory Gurkin was a central figure of the Siberian art scene in the late 19th — early 20th century. He became the first professional artist of Altai ethnic origin. The painter, teacher and collector of folk tales was born in the village of Ulala (presently — Gorno-Altaysk), studied at a school of the Altai Spiritual Mission, worked in icon painting workshops. After moving to St. Petersburg, Gurkin took lessons from Ivan Shishkin, studied at the Imperial Academy of Arts under Alexander Kiselyov.

The Tomsk Museum houses the painting ‘Khan-Altai’ by Grigory Choros-Gurkin. The master considered it his best work. The author’s versions of this canvas are also displayed in the Altai State Museum of Fine Arts and Anokhin National Museum of the Republic of Altai.

This canvas impressed the visitors at an exhibition held in Tomsk in 1907-1908. The magazine “Niva” wrote:

The exposition marked, in the words of scientist and traveler Grigory Potanin, the emergence of ‘their own Siberian artist.

Different Altai tribes added “Khan” to the name of their most revered places, especially the so-called ancestral mountains, which they considered the place of origin of their tribe. For example, the sacred place of the Chapty (a local tribe) was Chapty-Khan, and for the Maimans — Yal Menku. They also worshipped the Master of all mountain peaks. The Altaians called him Altai eezi — the spirit of Altai.

In the 1910s, three solo exhibitions of Grigory Gurkin were held in Tomsk. Residents of the city bought almost all of his works and commissioned the artist to make copies of their favorite paintings. That is why his large-scale canvases have been preserved in Tomsk: “Khan-Altai”, “The Crown of Katun”, “Lake of the Mountain Spirits”, “Lake Karakol”, as well as studies he made during his trips across the Altai Mountains. Presently, 18 works of the master are housed in the Tomsk Art Museum.