Career in Moscow

Self portrait (1879, Tretyakov Gallery)

Suvorov Crossing the Alps

In 1877, he received a commission to paint murals at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour (then still under construction), and he moved to Moscow.^[3] Unable to afford a house, he lived in rented apartments and hotels and visited Krasnoyarsk whenever possible. In 1878, he married Elisabeth Charais (1858–1888), a French woman who was descended from the Decembrist, Pyotr Svistunov, on her mother's side.^[2] They had two daughters.

After that, he chose to remain in Moscow and began the series of historical paintings that would establish his reputation, starting with The Morning of the Streltsy Execution. In 1881, he had his first exhibition with the Peredvizhniki, an artists' cooperative.^[2] In 1883, Menshikov in Beryozovo was bought by Pavel Tretyakov for a sum that allowed him to take a European tour. In 1887, he added portraits to his repertoire, beginning with one of his mother.^[3]

In 1888, his wife died, and he returned to Krasnoyarsk with his daughters for two years. There he painted his most lighthearted picture, The Capture of Snow Town. This was followed by a visit to his ancestral home in Siberia. There, on the Ob River, he made sketches for one of his most familiar works, The Conquest of Siberia by Yermak Timofeyevich (an event in which some of his ancestors had participated).^[3] This brought him a full membership in the Imperial Academy.^[2] In 1897, he visited Switzerland and painted Suvorov Crossing the Alps, which was purchased by Tsar Nicholas II.

In 1907, he left the Peredvizhniki and joined the Union of Russian Artists. Three years later, he visited Spain, together with his son-in-law, Pyotr Konchalovsky.^[3] That same year, he and the architect Leonid Chernishyov opened an art school. Four years later, he had an extended stay in Krasnoyarsk, painting landscapes.

Black and white photograph of Surikov, circa 1913

By this time, he was suffering from chronic coronary disease. A trip to Crimea for treatment in 1915 failed to ameliorate the problem, and he died early the following year after returning to Moscow. He was buried at Vagankovo Cemetery, next to his wife.^[2]

In 1948, on the 100th anniversary of his birth, his estate in Krasnoyarsk became a museum. Two monuments have been erected there, in 1954 and in 2002. A biographical movie of his life (Vasily Surikov) was made by Mosfilm in 1959, written by Emil Braginsky, and directed by Anatoly Rybakov, with Yevgeni Lazarev as Surikov and Larisa Kadochnikova as Elisabeth.^[4] Numerous streets and squares throughout Russia have been named after him, as well as a crater on Mercury.^[5]