Artistic awards of the magazine «Niva» as a reflection of the cultural demands of the population

The article discusses one of the ways of interaction between the publisher and the readers of the Niva magazine — the distribution of annual art awards. This publishing product, aimed at satisfying the needs of a wide mass of readers, is seen by the author as a way of reflecting the artistic preferences of Russian society in the second half of the 19th-early 20th century. The article attempts to collect and systematize art awards for the entire period of the magazine’s publication in order to identify their main trends. Having considered mainly the storyline of the works, and relying on the testimony of contemporaries, the author of the article comes to the conclusion that the taste preferences of the general population in many cases do not coincide with the artistic criticism of prominent artists. The magazine’s consumers were attracted by paintings of salon content, which became bright decorations for interiors.