Supporting Ukraine, a painting (or 3) at a time

HOLLADAY — When the Russian army invaded Ukraine 32 months ago, Mary Milliner took it personally.

Milliner isn't Ukrainian and has never visited the country. She was born and raised right here in Utah. But from 1994 to 1996 she served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Moscow, "so my heart was already in that part of the world."

Her heart broke both for the people in Russia — "people I met who were good and kind and Christlike and would not do this" — and especially for those in Ukraine — "people who were living happy, peaceful, productive lives and just overnight their whole world was turned upside down."

Milliner, a lawyer, sat in her home-office in Holladay, half a world away, feeling helpless. What could she do besides feel bad?

Then she looked up and saw a painting she'd bought just a few months earlier.

It was from Ukraine, painted by a Ukrainian artist.

Well, she could buy some more.

She reached out to the artist in Ukraine and ordered three more paintings. Supporting Ukrainian artists, she determined, would be her response to the war, her way to tell the Ukrainians that somebody was thinking of them, who knew they were not alone, and who knew they still needed to sell their artwork.

"I wasn't even sure if the paintings would get through, with everything that was going on," she says, "but they arrived, covered with markings from Ukraine, and I loved them, and I was just so touched to think where they had come from and that they'd made it through safely."

So she ordered three more. And three more after that. And then another three. You get the picture.

In the process, Milliner began developing relationships with the various artists and brokers of vintage art she was buying from. They emailed or texted at first, then began to talk on the phone. Their conversations might start with a brief comment about the war, about the frightening conditions, the constant worry, but mostly what they talked about was art.

Milliner heard the stories and history behind the paintings she was buying. She got to know the histories of the artists, living and deceased. She discovered that the Ukrainian flag is itself a work of art: the yellow is a reflection of the fields at harvest time, the blue is the sky.

As she was draining her pocketbook and lining the walls of her house with all this imported Ukrainian art, one day Milliner's sister-in-law Marta Dansie dropped by.

Milliner regaled Dansie with story after story about her new art world friends and her unique plan to help support them during the war. When she finally came up for air, Dansie chimed in with a suggestion, the gist of which was: "You should let other people in on this."

Dansie's a graphic designer so she volunteered to design a logo and an Instagram page, while Milliner's sister Sarah Milliner joined the team as an accountant.

Ukraine Vintage Art (@ukrainevintageart on Instagram) was born.

The women's first order of business was to each contribute $1,500 and buy as many paintings as they could to show off at an open house in Mary Milliner's backyard.

All those paintings sold — and that was just the beginning. In the past 2½ years, as its Instagram audience has increased to more than 400 followers, Ukraine Vintage Art has sold over 600 paintings, ranging in price from $75 to $795. So far, the nonprofit run out of Milliner's front room has contributed in the neighborhood of $150,000 to the Ukrainian art community.

That's not enough to win the war, of course, or save the economy, but it is enough to help keep a few dozen artists and art dealers in business and let them know they're appreciated and not forgotten.

And some of the money does wind up in the war effort, at least indirectly. One of Milliner's artist friends told her a portion of his profits was going toward the purchase of an ambulance.

"We are a super small operation," says Milliner, "but it's been such a gift and a blessing to be able to connect person to person, heart to heart, with the people of Ukraine. It makes this world seem very small when you can connect like that."

Says Dansie, "Seeing something like this changes your perspective; you think, wow, my problems are really small compared to what they're dealing with. Mary's compassion for this cause is contagious. Some people have purchased two dozen or more paintings. It's a win-win: You get a lovely painting and a happy heart for standing with Ukraine."

With Christmas coming, she adds, "It's such a good gift for the holidays."

Like everyone who is standing with Ukraine, Mary Milliner, Marta Dansie and Sarah Milliner — the women of Ukraine Vintage Art — pray and hope for the day the Russian army leaves Ukraine.

Whenever that happens, they already know what their next move will be. They'll be on the next jet to Ukraine, there to meet the artists and art dealers they have come to know through texts, phone calls and Google translate.

"We will be able to meet in person, and walk to the places depicted in their paintings — all the landmarks, the mountains, the beautiful countryside," says Mary Milliner. "I have friends in Kyiv now. I am so excited to one day visit them and celebrate their freedom."

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