Fyodor Prokofyevich Osipov is known in Chuvashia primarily for his easel and book graphics. An avid traveler, he created a series of graphic sheets dedicated to the development of virgin lands, the construction of railways in the Far North, the history and contemporary life of his native republic. He was the first of the Chuvash artists to start working in the technique of colored linocut.

His painting “The Guests of Honor” stands out especially. The artist depicts the founding fathers of professional art in Chuvashia: Moisey Spiridonovich Spiridonov, Nikita Kuzmich Sverchkov, and Yury Antonovich Zaytsev. They are shown in Sverchkov’s garden, gathered at the same table as if to celebrate a common holiday. In fact, the relations between them were rather complicated, and in real life, such a meeting could hardly have happened, but it was important to the artist to emphasize all of them being the champions of a common cause — the development of Chuvash art.

Yury Antonovich Zaytsev is shown in profile, holding a bowl of beer in his hands, as if slowly raising it. From the pocket of his jacket, one can see the cover of Yalav, a Chuvash literary magazine. Zaytsev is the very embodiment of artistic nature, a man of the people, yet a wise philosopher.

In the center, and rightfully so, is Moisey Spiridonov. Long hair frames his thoughtful face. The collar of the shirt with folk embroidery is unbuttoned, the Order of Lenin decorating his chest. Listening to the toast, he seems to be thinking,

The image of Nikita Kuzmich, a down-to-earth man (with a ripe apple in his hand, and an ever-present pipe in his mouth) introduces the atmosphere of informal heart-to-heart conversation. It looks like he can see before him his younger comrades in art, students whom he brought up over the long years of work at the Cheboksary Art School and who continue the traditions of his own mentors.

In terms of its figurative features, the canvas adopts a number of techniques of monumental art: fresco compositional structure and color range, as well as the artistic techniques (plywood, levkas, tempera) bringing it closer to mural painting.