Russian Portraits

A British sculptor’s diary transports listeners to the restless heart of post‑revolutionary Moscow, where she moves from the cramped anti‑chamber of a Bolshevik office to the spacious studios of Russia’s most celebrated artists. Through candid conversations with figures like Kameneff and Krassin, she discovers a surprising reverence for art in a society often portrayed as hostile to culture, noting how creators are prized—and even paid more than ministers. The narrative weaves vivid observations of everyday clerks, grand Kremlin vistas, and the bustling markets that frame her portrait work, offering a nuanced portrait of a nation caught between myth and reality.

The memoir balances personal reflections with gentle curiosity about the people she sketches, as she questions what drives the revolutionary spirit and how it shapes daily life. Listeners hear her modest humor and genuine wonder, feeling both the tension of a world in flux and the timeless humanity that endures beneath the grand political narratives.