Valery Lednev, deemed the People's Artist of the Russian Federation, contributed to enriching the collection of National Art Museum of China when he donated his oil work to the Beijing museum in 2015.

He recently returned to the capital to celebrate NAMOC's 60th anniversary and on Sunday, gave a lecture at the museum on Russian art and his work. His audience included Chinese artists, professors and students from the Central Academy of Fine Arts and Beijing Normal University who were revealed to the history of Russian painting and Lednev's career development. The painter also gave a demonstration of portrait making, which he has committed to throughout decades.