The State Museum of the State Cultural Centre of Turkmenistan is the place where the largest collection of valuable artefacts that reveal the rich cultural heritage of the country, its diversity of flora and fauna is kept. It is constantly replenished due to the conducted scientific and practical research. In October, a well-known geologist of Turkmenistan, Candidate of Geology and Mineralogy, Lecturer of Magtymguly Turkmen State University Anatoly Bushmakin presented to the museum as a gift 50 watercolours and 30 graphic works created by him over 40 years.
Anatoly Grigoriyevich became interested in painting back in his school years and attended one of the creative centres of Ashgabat. He was taught an art of painting and selection of colour shades by the Honoured Artist of Turkmenistan Ivan Illarionovich Ilyin. The teacher noted the capabilities of the young student, who was distinguished by his artistic handwriting and special vision of nature and considered that his paintings were worthy of representing Turkmenistan at the All-Union competition among schoolchildren and was not mistaken with the selection – seven paintings took the first place. It was in 1950. However, despite this success, his love for geology outweighed his interest in painting and after finishing school and serving in the army, in 1953, the young man entered the Turkmen State University, where the Department of Geology was then functioning. In his spare time, he attended art school, where he continued to develop his skills. And when after two years of studying the Department of Geology was closed, Anatoly entered the Moscow Polytechnic Institute to become a mining geologist.
