The collection of the Iskitim Museum of Arts and History features a painting titled “A Ferry on the Katun River”. It was created by the artist Ivan Petrovich Popov, a second cousin of Vasily Makarovich Shukshin.

The exhibit has two different dates written on it by the artist — 1957 on the back and 1964 on the painting itself. This discrepancy led to doubts which were cleared only thanks to the research conducted with the help of the artist’s son Andrey Ivanovich Popov and employees of the All-Russian Shukshin Memorial Museum-Reserve.

If the study was indeed created in 1957, most likely, Ivan Popov painted it during his visit to the village of Anos where he stayed with his friends Mikhail and Taisiya Ilminsky. The Anos ferry was the primary means of transportation between the two sides of the Katun River at that time and transported both people and vehicles across the river.

However, “A Ferry on the Katun River” also features another date indicated by the artist. In 1964, Vasily Shukshin completed directing the movie “There Is Such a Lad”. He had invited his second cousin to take part in filming. In the chapter “The 1963 Movie Expedition” of his book “Diary of an Artist”, Ivan Popov provided a vivid and exciting account of his collaboration with Vasily Shukshin. He wrote,

They also had a conversation about filming. Shukshin said to the artist,

Ivan Popov helped his cousin discover many beautiful locations for the filming. For the ferry scene, Ivan Popov suggested three ferries: Ayula, Anos, and the Fishing Ferry. Although the Anos Ferry had picturesque surroundings, Shukshin chose the Fishing Ferry, which was closer to the city. The scene was included in the final cut. The “one-and-a-halfer” truck depicted by Ivan Popov in this painting was used in the movie. It is the car that the heroic Pashka Kolokolchikov was driving after the fire at an oil depot. It is possible that “A Ferry on the Katun River” was painted around the same time.