Where the institutional records live

Ukrainian museum and library databases are the most reliable starting point, though coverage is uneven. Search by the artist name in Cyrillic as well as the transliterated form, because catalog records often use only one spelling. Some holdings are digitized, and many are not. A record may list a work without an image, which still helps you confirm a title or date. This is the part of the search that feels slow, and it is the part that matters most.

National archives in Kyiv and regional museums hold material that has not been fully migrated online. You may find a reference in a printed catalog first, then chase the holding institution by email. That sequence is normal for artists whose estates were dispersed or interrupted. Treat each confirmed record as a node, not as a finished collection. The picture builds piece by piece.

Diaspora collections and scattered holdings

A meaningful share of Yermylov material sits outside Ukraine, in private hands and in smaller cultural collections. Those holdings rarely appear in one place, and they often surface through exhibition histories rather than through a dedicated website. Look for retrospective catalogs and local exhibition records, which sometimes list works that later moved into private collections. A catalog entry is not the same as a viewable image, but it is a real lead.

When you are trying to see where to browse Yermylov's full body of work, expect the diaspora trail to be the least tidy part of the search. Some pieces appear in group shows and then disappear from public view. Others are documented only in a short mention within a larger publication. You will have to follow citations rather than thumbnails. That is frustrating, but it is also the honest shape of the material.

Records worth chasing

Auction records and the limits of visibility

Auction listings can widen the view, but only partially. A lot description may confirm a title, a date, or a medium, and sometimes it includes a small illustration. That illustration is often too low in resolution to judge the work properly, and it may disappear once the sale closes. Use auction records as evidence of existence and movement, not as a substitute for a stable archive.

The practical problem is that a work can be cataloged, sold, and then vanish from public access. That is one reason a comprehensive online view remains hard to assemble. You are often tracking a trail of references rather than a gallery wall. If you want a clearer picture, combine auction data with museum records and diaspora catalogs, and write down each reference you confirm. The list itself becomes your working archive.