The collection of the Boris Kustodiev House Museum contains several works depicting members of the artist’s family. One of them is “Portrait of Stepan Lukich Nikolsky”.

Stepan Nikolsky was the artist’s uncle and his father’s older brother. According to family legend, he was given the surname Nikolsky after the local parish church by a not too sober deacon. Despite his life beginning with a somewhat bizarre incident it turned out to be generally quiet and safe. Stepan was a strong-willed and driven person, he received education and became a mentor in the Astrakhan theological seminary. Unlike his younger brothers, Konstantin and Mikhail, who chose to be priests, Stepan took the secular route and became a major official of the State Comptrol where he performed the duties of senior railway auditor. He worked in St. Petersburg, made a successful career, and rose to the rank of state councilor. Among family members he was often short-tempered and authoritative. Lonely, without a family of his own, many saw him as not the most pleasant person to be around. But it was he who provided substantial financial assistance to the Kustodiev family, took the children with him on trips to the Caucasus, helped Boris get settled in St. Petersburg when he just arrived. Nikolsky was not thrilled with Boris choosing the Academy of Arts. Kustodiev also had a hard time finding common ground with his uncle, who had a heavy character. But the artist was nonetheless grateful to his uncle for helping him. He expressed this gratitude by creating a portrait of his uncle four years before his death.

Stepan Lukich is shown sitting in an armchair by the table, wearing an overcoat holding a hat in his hand. His somber, tired face is framed by a small gray beard. A large portion of the canvas is occupied with black; swift light brushstrokes create documents and books lying on the table, the exact portrait similarity between the model and the portrait — all this is convincing evidence of the young artist’s growing skill. Even Boris Kustodiev’s early works show that he had an undoubted gift for portrait painting. He masterfully conveyed not only the appearance of the model, but also his character, mood, the state he was in at the time of creating the portrait. Stepan Nikolsky died in 1905 at the age of 69. He was buried at the Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow.