Farmhouses, animals and the occasional beast - Maria Prymachenko, born in 1909, is one of Ukraine’s most celebrated artists. Her first U.S. exhibit is showing at The Ukrainian Art Museum in Little Ukraine.

Peter Doroshenko, the museum’s director, was inspired to bring Prymachenko’s art here after the Russians destroyed about eight of her works at the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. 

“Luckily the neighbor was able to save what was not in flames, and that was the impetus for us to really organize her first U.S. exhibition and really highlight her work in the way she deserves,” Doroshenko told News 12 New York. 

Doroshenko says it was the simplicity of her themes in a largely agricultural country that struck a chord throughout Ukraine.  He says with Prymachenko, what you see is what you get. 

“When you see a purple pig, well it’s a purple pig. If you see a yellow bird, it’s a yellow bird,” he said. “She focused in on highlighting that bird or that animal in a very different way where you start thinking about the animals and things that you take for granted, she didn’t take for granted, she focused in on them.”

Prymachenko practiced naïve art, which means she was self-taught. But what made her different than anyone else with a paint brush? Doroshenko says her secret sauce was consistency. 

“She was always focused and had these ideas, and the way she channeled these ideas was to make drawings or sculpture or embroidery,” he said. 

The exhibit just opened and will be closing on April 7.

Click HERE for more information.