On July 15, 1934, Oleg Tselkov was born, known as one of the leading representatives of Soviet nonconformism and one of the most expensive contemporary Russian artists. His works were characterized by bright colors and a lack of attachment to reality, as well as depictions of human faces, which the author himself referred to as "muzzles" and "faces." Brodsky considered Tselkov an outstanding Russian artist of the post-war period. Among his admirers were playwright Arthur Miller, who purchased the painting "Group Portrait with Watermelon," and Lyudmila Gurchenko.

Tselkov did not strive for realistic painting, asserting that no one can know how the depicted object will change in the future. After enrolling in art school, he regularly visited the Tretyakov Gallery, studying the works of the old masters.

For his free-thinking views, Tselkov was repeatedly expelled from art school, but thanks to his father's intervention, he was reinstated. Nikolai Ivanovich wrote complaints to the Central Committee, emphasizing that Soviet youth was being raised incorrectly. However, even in his school years, Tselkov attracted the attention of the KGB.

Even in the underground scene, Tselkov remained independent, not aligning himself with any groups or associations, preferring to remain a loner.

In 1977, Tselkov was forced to leave the USSR and move to France. He passed away on July 11 in Paris at the Saint-Antoine hospital and was buried in a cemetery in the Champagne province.

Tselkov's works are held in the collections of the Hermitage, the Pushkin Museum, the Russian Museum, and the Tretyakov Gallery. In the early 2000s, he had solo exhibitions at the Russian Museum and the Tretyakov Gallery.