Impressionist Oil Leonid Borisovich Yanush (December 13, 1897 – June 8, 1978) – Leningrad artist, representative of the classical school of Russian landscape painting. Leonid Borisovich Yanush was born on December 13, 1897 in St. Petersburg. The future artist was greatly influenced by his grandfather, Major General Leonid Ivanovich Yanush, a teacher of the Corps of Pages in St. Petersburg, who gave young Leonid his first painting lessons. In 1912, the family of the future artist moved to live in Pavlovsk. Leonid began to study painting at the school of the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, where N.P. Khimona (a student of A. Kuindzhi) became his teacher. Himona was a prominent representative of the traditions of the Russian landscape school and had a great influence on LB Yanush. In 1915, Leonid graduated from the Cadet Corps and entered the Institute of Civil Engineers, from where he was drafted into the army – at that time the First World War was going on. Leonid dreamed of entering the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, but fate ruined his plans. In the second half of 1918, his grandfather and father died, and the whole family remained in the care of the young artist. Leonid decided to devote himself to something that interested him no less than painting: the railway. He got a job as a technician and quickly rose to the rank of train driver. There was a civil war in the country, so the young driver drove both civil and military echelons. After returning to Pavlovsk in 1920, Leonid continued his studies at the locomotive department of the Technological Institute. In 1923, he married Ekaterina Lazarevna Bryzgacheva, a native of Pavlovsk, a year later their daughter Natasha was born. In 1927, the family moved to Petrograd, the artist began an active scientific and pedagogical activity. He taught a course in the theory and construction of steam locomotives. He wrote several books under the general title “Construction of steam locomotives of railways”, published in the period from 1929 to 1935. Several generations of engineers studied these books. During this period, LB Yanush was less engaged in painting, but he often painted sketches. At the same time, he created a number of paintings on railway themes, some of which are now in the Museum of Railway Transport in St. Petersburg. In 1927, the persecution of the scientific intelligentsia began, LB Yanush was dismissed from the institute and for a long time could not find a permanent job. During this period, he returned to painting and began to study in the fine arts studio at the House of Engineering and Technical Workers. Soon Leonid Yanush met Arkady Aleksandrovich Rylov, from whom he learned a lot. Before the start of the Great Patriotic War, Leonid Borisovich came to work at the Military Transport Academy. At the end of 1941, the Academy was evacuated to Kostroma, where Leonid Borisovich, along with his main work, began to actively engage in painting. He walked tens of kilometers and painted many sketches of the ancient Volga city and its environs. In addition to painting, the artist continued to engage in scientific work and in 1942 received a Ph.D. degree. At the end of 1944, the Academy returned to Leningrad. LB Yanush continued to work at the Academy. In 1947, he invented a new design of a steam distribution mechanism for steam locomotives, but due to the transition to electric and thermal traction, his invention lost its relevance. In 1950, his book “Russian steam locomotives in 50 years” was published. In total, during the period of work at the Military Transport Academy, he created more than thirty published works on steam locomotives and a number of textbooks and manuals on engineering graphics. Leonid Borisovich achieved considerable success in painting, annually participating in exhibitions of the Leningrad organization of the Union of Artists. In 1962 Leonid Borisovich met the director of the Pavlovsk Palace Museum – Anna Ivanovna Zelenova. He painted a portrait of this wonderful woman, who heroically saved the exhibits of the palace and park during the war. With Zelenova’s permission, he created a number of brilliant interiors of the palace, architectural ensembles and nature of one of the most beautiful parks in the world. In the 1970s, the artist created a whole series of watercolor interiors of the House of Stage Veterans on Petrovsky Island, in the city of Leningrad. During the 75th and 80th years of the artist, his personal exhibitions were held in Leningrad, highly appreciated by lovers of Russian painting. An incredible unique oil on canvas by Leonid Ianush. The work is signed lower right and dated on reverse. A very charming piece which is highly decorative by famous contemporary artist Leonid Ianush. The sister is famous Russian artist Galina Pisarenko.