maxuta_id="032261"

COLLECTION OF 21 SPACE FICTION PAINTINGS BY ANDREY SOKOLOV

It's offered to your attention the unique collection of paintings by Andrey Sokolov - the premier Russian artist documenting space flight history and depicting space fiction for over 40 years. Sokolov is the world's first artist who began drawing open space without leaving the studio. Painting in acrylic, tempera and oil on cardboard and canvas, Sokolov precisely emphasized the details of the construction of space ships, landscapes and cosmic phenomena.

Enjoy the collection!


International orbital station

  • Artist - Andrey Sokolov.
  • Acrylic painting on paper, glued onto cardboard.
  • Size - 11x14.5" (28x37 cm).
  • Known publications - concept used for 1972 postcards set "Space expanses", 1978 postcards "On a way to Mars (near orbital station)", 1985 Cuban postal stamp (Michel ¹ 2935).
  • Real look - front, back.
  • See the painting supersized.

    The next stage of space exploration - the creation of the large scientific research center on the Earth's orbit for the study and development of the Universe. In the picture - a future orbital station "Konstantin Tsiolkovsky", named after the brilliant scientist, author of the first project of "ethereal settlements" beyond the Earth.

    All the best what humanity disposes by the end of the second millennium will be invested in the creation of these fundamental structures in space. The removable hardware and versatile equipment, new power generators and improved solar panels, and much more will be widely adopted here. The giant spaceport for the first space tourists and the launch site for manned spacecraft will be organized on the orbital station.

  • Shooting asteroid

  • Artist - Andrey Sokolov.
  • Acrylic painting on paper, glued onto cardboard.
  • Size - paintng 6.8x9.5" (17x24 cm), cardboard 9.6x13.7" (24x35 cm).
  • Known publications - 1975 postcards set "On star races".
  • Real look - front, back.
  • See the painting supersized.

    Many dangers are waiting for far space trail researchers. Most of them can be foreseen and taken into account when designing and building spaceships. In particular, if racing near the speed of light spacecraft meets on its way an obstacle in the form of a block of stone - an asteroid, then maneuvering to avoid a collision will be extremely difficult. In this case antiasteroid gun takes action and turns this stone in the gas cloud.

  • Untitled work

  • Artist - Andrey Sokolov.
  • Acrylic painting on paper, glued onto cardboard.
  • Size - paintng 8.5x10.4" (22x26 cm), cardboard 9.6x13.7" (24x35 cm).
  • Known publications - no.
  • Real look - front, back.
  • See the painting supersized.

    Another space fiction painting depicting manual destruction of the asteroid which is very close to collide with the Earth, orbital station or human's space settlement. Sometimes machines can not complete certain tasks. Then a man has to fight against destructive nature.

    Now the problem of collisions in space is more and more acute. The meteorites are not the only threats in space. Space debris and unmanaged spacecraft, speeding across the expanses of the Universe, may cause the death of spacecraft.

  • Prior the far launch

  • Artist - Andrey Sokolov.
  • Acrylic painting on paper, glued onto cardboard.
  • Size - paintng 6.7x7.9" (17x20 cm), cardboard 9.2x13.7" (23x35 cm).
  • Known publications - concept has been used for unknown illustration.
  • Real look - front, back.
  • See the painting supersized.

    The painting depicts the launch of the spacecraft from the orbit of artificial satellite of the Earth (possibly, but maybe not). Apparently this is the photon rocket, as the light cone is seen from its tail (which, in fact, in space should be invisible). Astronauts are waving their hands "good-bye", watching the launch from the observation platform of the artificial satellite and preparing themselves for the far journey.

  • Fish industry

  • Artist - Andrey Sokolov.
  • Acrylic painting on paper, glued onto cardboard.
  • Size - paintng 8.2x11.7" (21x30 cm), cardboard 9.2x14" (23x36 cm).
  • Known publications - 1976 album "Man and Universe".
  • Real look - front, back.
  • See the painting supersized.

    From year to year the development of fishery, and more broadly, the state of the entire Marine Fisheries of the country is linked with the achievements of astronautics more and more closely.

    Space equipment efficiently allows to explore the movement paths of plankton and fish shoals, to disclose obtained information to the fishing fleets, what will finally greatly increase the efficiency of fishery without a significant expansion of the existing fleet of ships.

  • Reconnaissance ship landing on Mars

  • Artist - Andrey Sokolov.
  • Acrylic painting on paper, glued onto cardboard.
  • Size - 11x14.7" (28x37 cm).
  • Known publications - concept used as the right part of the illustration "First soft landing on Mars" in 1972 album "Space expanses".
  • Real look - front, back.
  • See the painting supersized.

    The apparatus, created on Earth, is landing on Mars. This is our today. Many more advanced devices will storm Mars over and over again breaking the abysses of cosmic distances. Spacecraft of the Earth will explore the mysterious planet, seek to answer the question "Is there life on Mars? Is it necessary for man to fly there? "

    And if it turns necessary, the manned spacecraft will take start on Mars. Until then it will be thoroughly studied by means of the automatic machines.

  • Moonflower

  • Artists - Alexey Leonov, Andrey Sokolov.
  • Acrylic painting on cardboard, paper frame.
  • Size - painting 10x8.4" (25x21 cm), paper frame 13.2x11.7 (34x30 cm).
  • Known publications - albums "To the stars" (1970), "Star ways" (1971).
  • Real look - front, back.
  • See the painting supersized.

    It really looks like a beautiful lunar flower with the petals opened up to sunlight. The first in the history Soviet automatic station "Luna-9" gently lowered onto the lunar surface in the vicinity of the Ocean of Storms in February 1966.

    The Earth will receive the first television panorama of the lunar surface!

    The "Luna-9" mission proved the possibility of soft landing of a spacecraft on the Moon and approached the time when man steps on the lunar surface.

  • Lunar trailblazers

  • Artist - Andrey Sokolov.
  • Acrylic painting on cardboard.
  • Size - 14.5x10.2" (37x26 cm).
  • Known publications - published under the name "Lunar village" in 1972 album "Space expanses".
  • Real look - front, back.
  • See the painting supersized.

    A time will come when stationary base will be created on the Moon to accommodate a sufficiently large number of specialists for the study and development of its natural resources.

    The artist depicted a lunar "settlement" in the painting. We see scientific and office equipment, protected from the influence of sunlight and radiation, special screens rotating in a circle - the solar panels, as well as the residential complex and transportation spacecraft supplying the expedition.

  • Multi-stage rocket assembling

  • Artist - Andrey Sokolov.
  • Acrylic painting on paper glued onto orgalit.
  • Size - 16.2x12" (41x30 cm).
  • The back side has the stamp "Going to print" (dated January 21, 1965).
  • Known publications - 1965 postcards set "Space fantasy".
  • Real look - front, back.
  • See the painting supersized.

    Preparations for the launch of the spacecraft is in progress. One of the rocket stages has been installed in the starting tower with the help of the special lift.

  • Space settlement

  • Artist - Andrey Sokolov.
  • Acrylic painting on paper glued onto orgalit.
  • Size - 11.7x16.6" (30x42 cm).
  • Known publications - 1981 album "Life in the middle of stars", 1982 postcards set "Space era".
  • Real look - front, back.
  • See the painting supersized.

    The scale of future work in the field of space exploration impresses by its grandeur. Scientists predict that in the next 65-70 years it will be possible to organize a colony on the Moon with a population of 100 000 people. It is expected that the higher forms of life in the universe will be discovered by 2020, the important information from another civilization will be received in 2040, and creation of artificial planets will begin from 2060. The first settlements will be created in space.

    Creatively developing ideas of Tsiolkovsky about cities in space, scientists have proposed to create a settlement in the form of cylinders made of glass and aluminum with a diameter of 0.5 kilometers (10 000 inhabitants) in the first stage. Habitable container is filled with oxygen atmosphere and rotates to create artificial gravity. Industrial and agricultural production develops outside the sphere at the periphery of the settlement and is provided by solar energy.

    In this painting the artist has shown his own version of the draft space settlement of the first stage.

  • Captured asteroid

  • Artist - Andrey Sokolov.
  • Acrylic painting on paper glued onto orgalit.
  • Size - 16.3x12" (41x30 cm).
  • Known publications - 1965 postcards set "Space fantasy".
  • Real look - front, back.
  • See the painting supersized.

    The brigade of astronauts managed to catch the asteroid which moved with not very high speed relatively to the satellite. Using the special space suits - rockets, the astronauts tow it to the satellite, where it will be used as a building material.

  • First lunar expedition

  • Artist - Andrey Sokolov.
  • Acrylic painting on paper glued onto orgalit.
  • Size - 17.5x9.9" (44x25 cm).
  • Known publications - 1966 postcards set "Man in space".
  • Real look - front, back.
  • See the painting supersized.

    And now The Man is on the Moon! Solid, dark rocks are beneath his feet. Sharp black fractures of the cracks. Steep ledges of the ring mountains - craters. No sound can be heard on the Moon: there is no air there. Only bright spangles of the stars on the black background of sky and the huge bluish disk of the Earth revitalizes the picture of this silent lunar world. But The Man has already entered in this world. And his first greeting - to the Earth...

  • Curved horizon

  • Artist - Andrey Sokolov.
  • Acrylic painting on cardboard.
  • Size - 19.5x13.5" (50x34 cm).
  • Known publications - 1971 album "Star ways" (name in the album - "On the planet of black star").
  • Real look - front, back.
  • See the painting supersized.

    This painting takes us into the world of the planet what happened to be near the hypothetical collapsing star. The first gravitational waves reached the planet (noone has ever got them veraciously on Earth!). The "curvature" of space began... The gravity changes... The effects are completely unfamiliar to earthmen.

  • Gates to antiworld

  • Artist - Andrey Sokolov.
  • Acrylic painting on orgalit.
  • Size - 21.8x13.5" (55x35 cm).
  • Known publications - 1981 album "Life in the middle of stars", 1984 album "Man and Universe".
  • Real look - front, back.
  • See the painting supersized.

    The hypothesis of the existence of antimatter and antiworlds (i.e., stars or other objects consisting of antimatter) was proposed by Paul Dirac in 1933, but it has not been confirmed or rejected by observations. This problem has become more complicated in 1957-1964 years when physicists discovered the violations of the law of conservation of parity of microparticles (molecules, atoms, and others.), reflecting the symmetry properties of the microparticles relatively the mirror image. Therefore, it is not quite clear whether or not we should continue to imagine the anti-world consisting of antimatter, but being in ordinary space - time, or it is in a "reverse" space - time.

    The painting represents the cosmological ideas of the artist about this modern scientific problem. According to a hypothesis, the matter flows out of our universe to different space, the black hole, and then passes into the antiworld as a white hole - a giant ejection from the core of antigalaxy.

  • Amber surf

  • Artist - Andrey Sokolov.
  • Acrylic painting on orgalit.
  • Size - 19.5x13.5" (50x34 cm).
  • Known publications - 1971 album "Star ways".
  • Real look - front, back.
  • See the painting supersized.

    What is the nature of amber surf? .. Maybe it is quite different than on the Earth...

    The show, extraordinary in its beauty and harmony, has been opened to the people who stepped on another small planet unknown before... The golden-yellow waves are surging hitting the rocks slowly and majestically, because of the low gravity.

  • Lunar Marathon runner

  • Artist - Andrey Sokolov.
  • Acrylic painting on orgalit.
  • Size - 16.4x10.6" (42x27 cm).
  • Known publications - a concept was used for 1972 album "Space expanses", another concept - for 1972 Soviet postal stamp (Michel ¹ 4046).
  • Real look - front, back.
  • See the painting supersized.

    It is difficult to overestimate all the opportunities opened up for us by the world's first mobile lunar laboratory fitted out with the most modern equipment. The Moon rovers allowed to research a wide variety of the lunar surface areas.

    The people will be able to fully appreciate the full significance of this stage in the future, when humanity, along with the ongoing research today, will proceed directly to development and settlement of the Moon. The rovers will be widely used in construction of scientific bases, settlements and lunar cities. They will carry out cargo transportation, bulldozing, excavation, repair works and more.

  • Cosmodrome on Fobos

  • Artist - Andrey Sokolov.
  • Acrylic painting on paper glued on cardboard, temporary frame is not included.
  • Size - 15.5x24" (39x61 cm).
  • Known publications - used in 1967 album "Wait for us, stars!" under the name "On the satellite of Mars".
  • Real look - front, back.
  • See the painting supersized.

    Very short distance left to get to the mysterious planet! Natural satellite - a small Martian moon became a convenient intermediate station for rockets. Lightweight space system with the crew onboard will fly now from here to Mars with a small initial velocity.

  • Lenses of fog

  • Artist - Andrey Sokolov.
  • Acrylic painting on paper glued on orgalit, temporary frame is not included.
  • Size - 13.6x19.6" (35x50 cm).
  • Known publications - 1971 album "Star ways".
  • Real look - front, back.
  • See the painting supersized.

    Thirst for knowledge, the desire to create a more perfect harmonious world will attract to strange worlds of future spacemen...

    Perhaps, such mystique will take place among the phenomenas on the planet of blue sun. What is it?

  • Around the Moon

  • Artist - Andrey Sokolov.
  • Acrylic painting on paper glued on orgalit.
  • Size - 11x14.7" (28x37 cm).
  • Known publications - 1971 album "Star ways".
  • Real look - front, back.
  • See the painting supersized.

    The spacecraft is orbiting the Moon. Its surface is very close. Craters, mountains, lowlands are clearly visible.

    The spacecraft will have to stay on the Moon for a long time. Special thermal insulation with a special optical coating surface, weakly absorbing solar radiation and good emitting into space "extra" heat, will help the spacecraft to endure large temperature fluctuations during the long lunar days and nights.

  • First in the world

  • Artist - Andrey Sokolov.
  • Acrylic painting on paper glued cardboard.
  • Size - 16.3x12" (41x30 cm) glued on 23.5x19.5" (60x50 cm).
  • Known publications - 1970 album "To the stars".
  • Real look.
  • See the painting supersized.

    That was the sensation on October 4th, 1957, when all the world press printed the photo of sphere looking artificial satellite launched into space by the Soviet Union. The Russian word "Sputnik" became well-known and international.

    Orbiting the Earth, Sputnik transmitted radio signal, the famous "Beep! Beep" what can be received by many radios worldwide.

    The artist was inspired by this first glorious milestone of the Soviet cosmonautics and devoted this painting to it.

  • Morning of the Lunokhod

  • Artists - Andrey Sokolov and cosmonaut Alexey Leonov.
  • Acrylic painting on cardboard, temporarily framed.
  • Size - painting 27.6x15.7" (70x40 cm).
  • Known publications - 1971 album "Star ways", at 27'49" in the Russian movie "At the edge of the abyss" about Alexey Leonov.
  • Real look - front, back.
  • See the painting supersized.

    It is difficult to overestimate all the opportunities that mobile lunar labs opened for us. The people will be able to properly appreciate the full significance of this step in the future, when humanity will begin the direct development and settlement of the Moon, along with the ongoing research today. Then the rovers will be widely used in the construction of scientific bases and lunar cities.



  • The author Andrey Sokolov was born in 1931 in Leningrad. His father was one of the leading developers of the launch facility Baikonur. Educated as architect and studied art in Moscow Architectural Institute, Sokolov participated in art exhibitions since 1955 as science fiction artist. Since childhood the artist liked fiction of Jules Verne, Belyaeva, Tsiolkovsky, Bradbury. Sokolov devoted his first sci-fi paintings to Bradbury's novel "Fahrenheit 451". After the launch of Sputnik in 1957 all his creativity was directed to the theme of space exploration.

    He worked closely with the cosmonauts, particularly with his friend cosmonaut Alexey Leonov who has collaborated with Sokolov on a number of projects, assisting with the realistic depiction of views from orbit as the one who has seen them. Sokolov was a member of the Russian Union of Artists where he became The Chairman of the Cosmic Group. He had numerous exhibitions in the Soviet Union and abroad, including the U.S., West Germany, Holland and Japan. His art works have been published in many books and magazines, including Air and Space, and in seven books of his own (some done in collaboration with Alexey Leonov). Many Sokolov's paintings were used for the Soviet posters, postcards and postal stamps.

    "Space exploration", said Sokolov, "is the most impressive achievement of mankind; it's the forefront of human knowledge, the chief and the only theme of my artistic activity in space, the Universe, and cosmonautics."

    Andrey Sokolov died in March 2007. His works are presented in many museums and private collections. For example, The National Air and Space Museum, a part of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., has the collection of works by Sokolov and Leonov.


    Provenance. The collection came from the estate of the other artist, who was also the member of Russian Union of Artists. He collaborated with Sokolov and Leonov in some projects. This artist asked not to publish his name or spread it anyway regardng this sale.

    Some paintings look a little different from their publications. In this case I mentioned that a "concept", the other very similar version of the same painting, has been used for publication. As enormously prolific artist, Andrey Sokolov often made several versions or "concepts" of his paintings. This well-known fact is proved by numerous different versions of paintings made by Sokolov for stamps. See samples here.

    The dates when the paintings have been done are unknown, but they are supposely the same or earlier than the dates of the earliest known publications.


    References. The information about publications of Sokolov paintings on postcards and in albums has been taken from online catalog of Sokolov and Leonov space fiction art by Yury Morozevich. Several paintings have no name on their back. These unnamed paintings have got their names from this catalog. If the name on the back does not coincide with the name in catalog, than the name on the back have been used as preferred.

    The information about use of Sokolov paintings for the stamps has been taken from online philatelistic blog of Yury Zubakin, named "Two parts of the whole. Fiction in philately".

    I was also curious to find many samples of Sokolov paintings use here and here.


    Naming and captions.Several paintings have no name on their back. These unnamed paintings have got their names from online catalog of Yury Morozevich. If the name on the back side of the painting is not the same as the name in catalog, than the name on the back have been used as preferred.

    The captions for the paintings have been copied and translated from the albums and postcards, if exist. If not, the compilation of thoughts taken from different online sources have been used instead.


    Condition. The paintings are in different condition, from good to very good or excellent, I'd say. Of course, scratches, shabby edges, blots, dirty backs and unsticked paper are available, but generally speaking, these well-known 1950-s - 1970-s paintings of the famous sci-fi artist are very good looking. See their supersized images for details. They have not been especially improved after shooting, except the right color balance and lens artefacts correction (edge distortions and vignetting).

    All the pictures will be carefully packaged for shipping, framed paintings will be unframed.


    Complete set. The collection includes all the 21 paintings shown and described above (framed paintings will be unframed):

  • International orbital station
  • Shooting asteroid
  • Untitled work
  • Prior the far launch
  • Fish industry
  • Reconnaissance ship landing on Mars
  • Moonflower
  • Lunar trailblazers
  • Multi-stage rocket assembling
  • Space settlement
  • Captured asteroid
  • First lunar expedition
  • Curved horizon
  • Gates to antiworld
  • Amber surf
  • Lunar marathon runner
  • Cosmodrome on Fobos
  • Lenses of fog
  • Around the Moon
  • First in the world
  • Morning of the Lunokhod
  • Besides the paintings there are some publications and other paper material related to Sokolov coming with the collection:
    1. Russian artists catalogue "Painting. Drawing", 1995, includes Sokolov's brief biography, Sokolov's painting "Sun sail" (1983) on the front cover, plus 35 Sokolov's paintings inside. No paintings from this collection.
    2. Catalogue brochure for the personal exhibition of Andrey Sokolov in Central House of Journalists, Moscow, 1959. The brochure contains the list of Sokolov's paintings, some of them with pictures and descriptions. It includes the following paintings from this collection: "Multi-stage rocket assembling" (1958), "International orbital station" (1958), and "Captured asteroid" (1958).
    3. Color slides named "Space art by Andrei Sokolov (U.S.S.R.). Limited edition". Contains 10 Sokolov paintings. No paintings from this collection.
    4. Catalogue brochure for the personal exhibition of Alexey Leonov and Andrey Sokolov in Varna, Bulgaria (May - June, 1975). In Bulgarian language. It contains the list of 13 paintings by Leonov, 41 paintings by Sokolov and 7 paintings by Sokolov and Leonov. It includes the following paintings from this collection: "Amber surf" (1970) and "Cosmodrome on Phobos."
    5. Invitation ticket to the meeting with cosmonaut Alexey Leonov and artist Andrey Sokolov at 17:00 on December 11, 1965 in Club of Cosmonautics in "Palace of Pioneers", Moscow. The meeting is devoted to the art exhibition "Space by eyes of scientist, artist, cosmonaut".
    6. The letter from the organizers of exhibition "Man and space" in 1982 in the Soviet Consulate in Paris, France to artist Andrey Sokolov asking him to lend his paintings for the exhibition, according to the applied list what includes 23 paintings of Sokolov and 4 paintings of Leonov plus Sokolov. The list includes the painting "Gates to antiworld" (1981).
    7. The Soviet-American space art book "In the stream of stars", edited by Sokolov and 3 more artists, 1990. Published in New York, USA. In English. Includes 4 paintings of Sokolov. No paintings from this collection.
    8. Album of Leonov and Sokolov space art named "Man and Universe", Moscow, 1984, in Russian. Contains 137 paintings of Leonov and Sokolov, including "Space settlement", "Amber surf" and "Gates to antiworld" from the collection. Dedicatory signed inscriptions from Leonov and Sokolov to the previous owner of the collection and his wife. Also contains his works. Confirms the relations between the previous owner and Sokolov, Leonov.
    9. Album of Leonov and Sokolov space art named "Life among stars", Moscow, 1981, in Russian and English. Contains paintings of Leonov and Sokolov, including "Space settlement" and "Gates to antiworld" from the collection.
    10. Album of Leonov and Sokolov space art named "Star roads", Moscow, 1971, in Russian and English. Contains paintings of Leonov and Sokolov, including "Moonflower", "Morning of Lunokhod", "Around the Moon", "Lenses of fog", "Amber surf" and "Curved horizon" from the collection.
    11. Album of Leonov and Sokolov space art named "Wait for us, stars", Moscow, 1967, in Russian and English. Contains paintings of Leonov and Sokolov, including "Cosmodrome on Phobos".
    12. Newspaper "Soviet Russia" of January 20, 1980, including the article about 2 artists depicting space - Leonov and Sokolov.
    13. Newspaper "The Arizona Republic"of April 8,1989, including the article about Soviet and American space painters Andrey Sokolov and Robert McCall.
    14. Postcards set "Star way of humanity", 1989, containing the paintings of multiply artists, including Sokolov and Leonov. No paintings from this collection.
    15. Postcards set "Space conquestors", 1977, containing the paintings of multiply artists, including Sokolov and Leonov. No paintings from this collection.
    16. Postcards set "Star ways", 1978, containing the paintings of Sokolov and Leonov, including a variation of "International orbital station".
    17. Postcard set "World of 2000", 1980, containing the paintings of Sokolov. Autograph of Sokolov on the cover. No paintings from this collection.
    18. Postcards set "Space to national economy", 1985, containing the paintings of Sokolov and Leonov. No paintings from this collection.
    19. Postcard, 1966, illustrated by Sokolov's painting "First lunar expedition" (name on the postcard - "Man on the Moon").
    20. Postcard, 1965, illustrated by Sokolov's painting "Captured asteroid" (name on the postcard - "On the orbit of Earth satellite").
    21. Postcard, 1965, illustrated by Sokolov's painting "Multi-stage Rocket Assembling".


    More unique Soviet space collectibles are available!

    Improve your space collection with real things!



    Happy buying!