The Museum of Stepan Grigorievich Pisakhov is located in the trading building of the merchant A.N. Butorov, which is an architectural monument of the 19th century. The trading house was built in 1898-1903 and was located on the territory of the spacious city estate of the merchant of the 1st guild Andrei Nikolaevich Butorov on Pomorskaya street. His house was one of the first buildings in the city designed specifically for shops. During the Soviet years, the building was used for administrative offices, shops, pharmacy administration. In 1994, the house was transferred to the Museum of Fine Arts, which is engaged in the revival and museumification of architectural monuments of the 18th – 19th centuries located on the territory of "Old Arkhangelsk". One of the programs of museification of architectural monuments was the formation in 2008 of the Museum of the Northern Artist and Storyteller, Traveler and Researcher, Publicist and Teacher Stepan Grigorievich Pisakhov.
Pisakhov's talent as a landscape painter was revealed in the
depiction of the North. He created a unique image of the Arkhangelsk
nature. Pisakhov's pines have become as household names as Levitan's
birches. His works, and there were about 300 of them, Pisakhov left
his hometown. In literature Pisakhov is known as a storyteller. In
fairy tales, he reflected the life, traditions and customs of the
Pomors. The works are imbued with brilliant folk humor and
unimaginable fantasy.
In the museum, you can see paintings
and graphic works, documents of the artist, his personal belongings
and literary works, museum objects, historical monuments telling
about the time, events of the time in which the artist lived.
The museum has 8 halls, each of which has its own plastic, light
and color scheme. Hall I is called "Family". It is dedicated to the
family tree of Pisakhov and the old Arkhangelsk of the late 19th
century. Hall II is called "Travel". He talks about Pisakhov's trips
to Asia, Europe, Africa at the beginning of the twentieth century,
as well as the beginning of his travels in the North and the Arctic.
The life of the pre-revolutionary city of Arkhangelsk and the role
of Stepan Pisakhov's personality are reflected in it in Hall III -
“Dvina. City".
Hall IV is called Petersburg. It was this city
that had a great influence on the formation of Pisakhov as an
artist. Here he studied at the Stieglitz School and in 1911
organized an exhibition dedicated to northern nature, for which he
received a silver medal. Hall V - "The First Five-Year Plans" -
combines several themes. The exposition is dedicated to Arkhangelsk
in 1920–1930, the city where the stormy and controversial life of
Stepan Pisakhov is shown.
Hall VI is called "Uyma". He talks
about the work of Pisakhov as a storyteller. The customs, everyday
life and customs of the Pomors described in fairy tales are
reflected in the costumes and utensils of the late 19th century. A
puppet show of fairy tales is organized here. In addition, the
famous Arkhangelsk roes (colorful curly gingerbread) are presented
here. Pisakhov was their connoisseur and collector. His collection
is still kept in the State Ethnographic Museum of St. Petersburg.
In the VII hall, entitled "The Last Years", there is an
exposition that tells about the life of Stepan Pisakhov not only as
a writer and artist, but also a legendary person. Hall VIII is
called Life After Death. Here you can see publications about
Pisakhov, published in the 1960s – 1990s and the 21st century,
research works of his life and work, works of Pisakhov, and so on.
In addition, this hall is a kind of workshop in which visitors can
create, compose, take part in theatrical improvisations, that is,
for a while, "turn" into Pisakhov himself.