The Russian painter Abram Yefimovich Arkhipov was born in 1862 in the village of Yegorovo, Ryazan Governorate. He came from the former serf family of the Pyrikovs. The artist owed the surname Arkhipov to his great-grandfather Arkhip Rodionovich.

Arkhipov received his initial education in art from traveling icon painters and worked as their apprentice. One of his teachers recommended the young artist to enter the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. From the age of 15, Abram Arkhipov attended classes taught by the painter Vasily Grigorievich Perov, the landscape painter Alexey Kondratyevich Savrasov and other famous artists.

In 1891, Abram Arkhipov became a member of the Society of Traveling Art Exhibitions. Before long, he headed the life class at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, where he worked for 24 years.

At the age of 36, he received the title of Academician of the Imperial Academy of Arts, and at the age of 42, he became one of the founders of the Union of Russian Artists.

From 1912, the artist often traveled to the Russian North and painted women from Russian villages. The artist’s color palette became bright and colorful, the main color was red. A series of “red peasant women” immortalized the name of Abram Arkhipov.

His work in the Alexander Grigoriev Art and History Museum is represented by the painting “Spring Day”. The painting was transferred from the collection of the Rumyantsev Museum in Moscow in 1925.

The absence of elaborated details indicates the conveyance of the first impression of what is seen. This is characteristic not only of Abram Arkhipov’s work, but also of many early 20th century artists who were influenced by Impressionism.

Many famous artists of the first half of the 20th century, such as Sergei Vasilyevich Gerasimov, Boris Vladimirovich Ioganson and others, were proud to be taught by Abram Arkhipov, who was also a teacher of Alexander Grigoriev, the founder of the Art and History Museum named after the latter. The two artists were linked by professional and creative activity. This is evidenced by archival photo documents from the museum’s collections.

In 1924, Abram Arkhipov became a member of the Association of Artists of Revolutionary Russia, and in 1927, he became one of the first to receive the title of People’s Artist of the RSFSR.