Career
He is known for using traditional methods of enamel art production, without the aid of contemporary digital set ovens, and is considered a modern master of the artform. The first exhibition of Maximov’s work occurred at the Podolsk Town Museum in 1979 along with lifelong collaborator the painter Leonid Efros, and the second was held later that same year at the State Literature Museum in Moscow. A major exhibition Maximov’s work took place at the Kremlin Armoury in the early 1990s that featured his work in the context of enamellists from throughout Russian history.
Following the exhibition of the works, which can only be seen by appointment, they were put up for auction.
The occasion marked the first time a sitting British monarch agreed to a sitting for a Russian artist in over 200 years, an honor which he shared with Efros. Queen Elizabeth II was impressed enough by the experience to recommend that Princess Anne sit for Maximov the following week, and Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother on the 31st of the same month.
The portraits became his signature pieces. All in all, his work has been a part of over 100 worldwide art exhibitions.
Larissa Peshekhonova of the State Museums of the Moscow Kremlin described Maximov as an enamellist who has “transformed the traditions of the past to create own inimitable artistic style and world images”.
