David Burliuk is the father of Russian futurism, the artist of the Russian avant-garde. At the beginning of the century, they, together with their friend Mayakovsky, slapped the public taste: they walked around with painted faces, with a spoon in their buttonhole, and they shocked the public. There is evidence that it was Burliuk who persuaded the shy Mayakovsky not to hide his poems and concentrate on poetry. Then fate dispersed them. Burliuk emigrated from Russia and settled in America.

One of the main and most expensive Russian nonconformists. His name has been heard even by those with little interest in fine art. After all, stories about Tselkov can be found several times in the prose of Sergei Dovlatov. One of the most famous is in “Solo on Underwood” — about how the artist set prices for his paintings. He did it in a very peculiar way. And all because one day the artist severely underestimated his painting.