Large format: the image measures 25" x 18", total size is 28" x 20 ½". The notation in pencil in the lower left-hand corner reads "1/3 Road to Troitsk color linotype", 1/3 meaning that this is the first of only three author's proofs of this linotype. The artist's hand signature and year are in pencil in the lower right-hand corner.

Despite the laconic and stern landscape that pictures roads, high power lines and trucks, the painting is dominated by warm ochre tones. The mountains of ochre color remind that brown iron ores have been found here, the unique source of nickel, titanium

Large format: the image measures 25" x 18", total size is 28" x 20 ½". The notation in pencil in the lower left-hand corner reads "1/3 Road to Troitsk color linotype", 1/3 meaning that this is the first of only three author's proofs of this linotype. The artist's hand signature and year are in pencil in the lower right-hand corner.

Despite the laconic and stern landscape that pictures roads, high power lines and trucks, the painting is dominated by warm ochre tones. The mountains of ochre color remind that brown iron ores have been found here, the unique source of nickel, titanium and other scarce metals, as well as the ochre pigment from which the paints are made. The famous geologist Fersman called these lands the "True Pearl of the Urals."

This landscape is a continuation of the industrial theme. Everything is subordinated to one goal: the road is leading to Novotroitsk, the location of one of the largest groups of metallurgical enterprises in the country. The city was built specifically for its workers, and it was there that the future artist Novichenko was born into a family of a metallurgical worker. Thus, in a way, for Novichenko this is the road home, back to his childhood. The warm colors afford lyricism to the stern landscape but man is not the larger-than-life hero presence here. The enormity of the landscape is.

The linotype is in excellent condition. Very light wear, including the short tear at top left, is constrained to the margins and does not reach the artwork, instead adding to the sense of authenticity of it.

Valentin Novichenko (Валентин Алексеевич Новиченко, 1927-2010) was a well-known master of graphic arts from the Urals. He was born into a working-class family. His childhood impressions of industry and the construction of the Orsk Metallurgical Kombinat (group of factories) deeply affected his art.

He participated in the Patriotic War and then graduated from the Sverdlovsk School of Arts, which he attended from 1956 to 1961. In 1966 he became a member of the Trade Union of Artists of the USSR and a permanent participant of all-Union exhibitions. From 1953 to 1963 he worked as a decorator at the Uralkhimmash and Uralmash, both of which were gigantic powerhouses of Soviet industry that played an extremely important role in the development of the industrial might of the Soviet Union as well as its defense during the Great Patriotic War. They also played a major role in the development of the city of Yekaterinburg (then Sverdlovsk) and the entire Urals Region.

After the death of the artist in 2010, a number of his exhibitions opened in his native Urals and in Moscow, and well-known collectors are now trying to acquire his works. As is evident from his correspondence with colleagues that is now kept in a private collection, Novichenko had a difficult personality. He never tried to sell his works to collectors or earn favors from the bureaucrats managing arts; he also refused to sell his painting to the managing committees of exhibitions on their terms. He was a tireless innovator, always in search of new materials and techniques, and this consumed his entire life. His lithographs on metal or so-called "poly-etching graphics" that employed various techniques and metal cutting instruments invented by him, make his art truly unique and of enduring value.

Please note that the 1-ft. ruler in our photo is for size reference.
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