Pyotr Ivanovich Sholokhov was born on 5 October 1898 in Borisoglebsk in the Voronezh Oblast to a merchant family. From 1915-1920, he studied fine arts in Borisoglebsk. In 1920 he moved to Moscow and enrolled in
Vkhutemas, where he was an apprentice to Favorsky and Pavlinov until 1923, later getting transferred to the
Arkhipov's workshop. Sholokhov was an avid participant in republic and all-union exhibitions. In 1929 he became a member of the
Association of Revolutionary Visual Artists. In 1959 and 1975, Sholokhov's personal exhibitions were held in Moscow. Sholokhov is an author of pictures of military theme and picturesque outlines in
Yasnaya Polyana, in different places which are connected to the life of
Leo Tolstoy and in
Melikhovo where
Anton Chekhov set his foot. Sholokhov was a teacher of drawing in Verhniy Karachan in the Gribanovsky district. In 1950 he visited Borisoglebsk, where he created many works capturing different parts of the city. Pyotr Ivanovich is known for the
portrait genre,
landscape, as well as
still life. Many of his works are dedicated to landscapes of
Borisoglebsk and its surroundings. In 1941, Pyotr Ivanovich was drafted into the army, and while being at the front, he managed to paint decorations and portraits of generals, posters and nameplates on the graves of the perished. He was able to freely cite poetry of
Vladimir Mayakovsky and
Sergei Esenin, and argue on contemporary tendencies in the art world. In his free time, the artist painted military landscapes where he showed dugouts, burnt forests, and the remains of peasant's houses and roads. Sholokhov was named «The singer of Borisoglebsk and its surroundings». In postwar years he worked on industrial themes, creating famous paintings such as «The Plant of Hammer and Sickle». Pyotr Ivanovich was a Professor of Art History in a studio of the publishing house «
Pravda». In 1982 he donated more than 100 works to numerous art museums in Voronezh and Borisoglebsk. The paintings of this author are kept in
the Tretyakov State Gallery in Moscow, as well as in
Yasnaya Polyana,
Melikhovo, and various museums in
Serpukhov and
Taganrog. == Legacy ==