Grigoriy Dovzhenko

Grigoriy Avksentiyevich Dovzhenko Григорій Овксентійович Довженко
Born	(1899-04-22)22 April 1899 Poltavka, Russian Empire
Died	21 April 1980(1980-04-21) (aged 80) Kiev, Ukraine, Soviet Union
Occupation(s)	Artist, painter

Grigoriy Avksentiyevich Dovzhenko (22 April 1899 - 21 April 1980) is a Ukrainian muralist, Honoured Artist of USSR, member of the Union of Artists of Ukraine.

Biography

Grigoriy Avksentiyevich Dovzhenko was born on April 22 (April 10 old style) 1899, in Poltavka village (now Bashtanka, Mykolaiv Oblast, Ukraine). In 1907 - 1913 he studied in Poltava local school (2 classes). In 1913 his family moved to Gvozdievka village in Siberia. In 1916 Grigoriy Dovzhenko moved to Omsk, where he was working as a porter. At the same time he passed exams without attending the higher school.
In 1917 Grigoriy Dovzhenko started studying at the courses of Red Arts of Siberia. At the same time he was working as a postman and a warden at Akmolinsk veterinary department.

Profession

• 1918 - 1920 - works as an illustrator in Siberia oblast' printing agency (Omsk), performed settings for the opera "Prince Igor" staged in Siberia State Opera House
• 1920 - 1921 - works as a scene painter in Siberia State Opera House, then in the fall 1921 he with his family returned to Ukraine, where he's working as a drawing teacher in Mykolaiv area department of political awareness
• 1922 - Grigoriy Dovzhenko enters Odessa Art Institute. In 1923 - 1924 he took a journey over Ukraine, making a lot of drawings, landscape and still-life pictures
• 1925 - his works are presented at the exhibition of students' works at Odessa Art Institute. At this time he enters the Association of Revolutionary Art of Ukraine (ARAU), and is elected its secretary in Odessa branch
• 1926 - work on the picture "Song about Freedom". Grigoriy is elected the delegate of all-Ukrainian ARAU congress
• 1927 - work on the decoration of the Eastern Chamber of Commerce in Odessa. In May Grigoriy Dovzhenko graduated from the Odessa Art Institute with qualification of artist-muralist
• 1928 - work on the decoration of Farmers' Sanatorium VUTSIK. Grigoriy as well is working as drawing teacher at that time
• 1930 - 1936 - Grigoriy is a teacher at Kiev Art Institute (currently - National Art and Architecture Academy). In 1930 he also worked as an artist at Odessa movie studio
• 1941 - as the World War II began, Grigoriy Dovzhenko evacuated to Tajikistan, where he worked as a teacher and the secretary of Tajikistan Union of Artists committee. He also was involved in the construction works at power plant near Dushanbe, published a lot of antifascist drawings
• 1945 - enters Red Army, sniper school. This year Grigoriy Dovzhenko enters the Communist Party and after the WWII was over, returned to Ukraine
• 1948 - obtains inventor's certificate for fine art technique from the USSR Council of Ministers' State Committee for Inventions and Discoveries
• 1953 - 1960 - teacher at Kiev school of arts and crafts
• 1956 - elected the delegate of the III session of USSR Union of Artists
• 1957 - elected the delegate of the I session of USSR Union of Artists
• 18 December 1979 - awarded the title of Honoured Artist of Ukrainian SSR

Works

• 1920 - settings for the opera "Prince Igor" staged in Siberia State Opera House
• 1923 - 1924 - various landscape and still-life pictures made during his journey over Ukraine
• 1926 - picture "Song about Freedom"
• 1927 - decoration of the Eastern Chamber of Commerce in Odessa
• 1928 - sketches and decoration of Farmers' Sanatorium VUTSIK
• 1929 - decoration of the Press House named after Kotsiubynsky in Odessa
• 1930 - works as an artist at Odessa Film Studio, at the movies production: "Perekop", "25000", "Parents' Right", "Museum Guard"
• 1930 - 1936 - a series of landscapes is done during journey to Crimea
• 1934 - picture "Cheapskate Nest"