ARTISTIC INSPIRATIONS
Artist Yuri Gorbachev was in Middleburg for a showing
of his paintings at The Byrne Gallery. His lively, primitive
work incorporates strong Russian motifs, bright primary
colors and robust red accents. Animals (of course) are a
popular subject: “Blue Cat on a Red Table,” “Sill Life with
Parrot and Flower” and even “Jester on Horse.”
“His technique is evocative of Russian enamels – he uses
at least a dozen layers of finishing glaze, which gives it a
luster,” says gallery owner Susan Byrne.
Yuri began his artistic career in ceramics. In the early
1990s, upon emigrating to the United States, he switched to
oil on canvas. A cousin of former Soviet President Mikhail
Gorbachev, Yuri now lives and works in New York. His
work can be seen at the Louvre, the China Club in Hong
Kong, the Hyatt Regency in Perth, Australia, the collections
of Brooke Shields, Mick Jagger, Senator Edward Kennedy
and now … in several Middleburg residences.
LOCAL SCRIBES
The peaceful surroundings of Middleburg have long
provided inspiration for local writers. The late Jane McIlvaine
McClary wrote many novels, including A Portion For Foxes,
a roman-a-clef about life in Hunt Country. Some folks are
still trying to match the fictional characters with the reallife
ones.
In 1956, Jane co-wrote a non-fiction book called My
Antarctic Honeymoon: A Year at the Bottom of the World with
Jennie Darlington, who is the real character in this true tale.
Jennie, who lives at the appropriately named Chilly Bleak
Farm, was married to the late adventurer Harry Darlington.
(Some folks in Washington will remember his mother, Ethel
Garrett, who saved the circa 1828 columns from the East
Portico of the U.S. Capitol and underwrote their permanent
installation at the National Arboretum in the mid-1980s.)
Harry “Skipper” Darlington, Jr. and daughter Cynthia Beyer and son-in-law Charles Beyer also live in Hunt Country.
Rita Mae Brown was at the Horse Country Saddlery in
Warrenton, signing copies of her latest book, The Tell Tale
Horse. In the novel’s first pages, the body of a naked woman
is found inside a tack shop closely resembling the one at
which the book signing took place…. Rita Mae has cleverly
