Tolya (Anatoly) is the son of the artist Porfiry Nikitich Krylov and his second wife, Elena Anatolyevna Kalacheva. He was born on December 2, 1936 and became a frequent model of his father’s paintings. Porfiry Krylov was the People’s Artist of the USSR and a member of the Kukryniksy artistic group with whom he created political cartoons for the newspaper Pravda (“Truth”). He was a special correspondent at the Nuremberg trials, illustrator of works by Chekhov, Gorky and Saltykov-Shchedrin. Krylov also received five Stalin Prizes.

Anatoly Krylov first appeared in his father’s painting when he was still in his mother’s womb. The portrait was made during the last months of her pregnancy. He next appeared as an infant, then as a one-year-old-boy. In the next he was two, then three and four. In the portrait made in 1945, Tolya is nine years old, he is dressed in an elegant carnival costume, and says his goodbyes to the year of the Great Victory. One of the portraits of Anatoly in his student years was painted by his paternal brother, Andrey Krylov.

In the portrait “Tolya in a Hammock” the boy is seven years old and he is ill. With fine skill, the artist captured the mood of his child. The face of the boy lying in a hammock looks expressive; a white pillow emphasizes that his cheeks are hot from fever, his eyes are gleaming. Tolya’s sad and slightly offended look evokes sympathy from the viewer.

Anatoly Krylov followed in the footsteps of his father and his older brother Andrey. He chose to become an artist, and received a specialty in “artistic metalworks”. Anatoly Krylov became a professor at the Restoration of Metal Artworks Department and a teacher at the Stroganov Academy of Arts and Industry.

Anatoly Krylov’s other hobby was equestrian sports. Anatoly participated in international tournaments and earned the praise of Queen Elizabeth II. However, this hobby greatly affected his health: after an unsuccessful fall and injury, Anatoly Krylov would never completely recover.

Anatoly Krylov donated a lot of his father’s works and personal items to art historians in Tula. Owing largely to this event, the Porfiry Krylov Museum was established. Anatoly Krylov attended the grand opening of the museum in 1997, and then visited the exhibition two decades later.