People’s Artist of the USSR and a member of the Kukryniksy artistic group Porfiry Krylov dedicated this painting to the street in Tula where he was born and raised. In “The Three of Us”, the book of memoirs of the Kukryniksy, he wrote:

Porfiry was born on August 22, 1902 and was the eldest child in the family. The artist spent his childhood and youth on this street: here he used to run to school with the boys, chase pigeons. This was the place where he first picked up brushes and paints. In 1919, he got his first job working at a warehouse of the Cartridge Plant. In 1921, having received a permit from the Tula Union of Metalworkers, Porfiry Krylov left Tula for Moscow to enter the department of Painting at Vkhutemas — Higher Art and Technical Workshops.

Having become a famous artist, Porfiry Krylov settled in Moscow, on Chkalov Street. The test pilot Valery Chkalov, in whose honor the old Zemlyanoy Val Street was renamed, previously lived in the same house. The apartments and workshops of the Kukryniksy were also located in this house.

Krylov always remembered his hometown, often visited Tula, where he hosted exhibitions and held creative meetings. He dedicated many landscapes to the Tula Oblast and the valley of the Oka River. Krylov donated a number of his works to his hometown, as well as paintings by famous masters from his private collection. Each time the artist came to Tula he tried to check on his childhood home.

The artist’s warmest childhood memories were reflected in this simple and touching landscape with old wooden houses pressed closely together, tall trees along the road, green front gardens and chickens busily walking by the sun-warmed fence.