Grigoriy Avksentiyevich Dovzhenko is a Ukrainian muralist, Honoured Artist of USSR, member of the Union of Artists of Ukraine.
Biography
Grigoriy Avksentiyevich Dovzhenko was born on 22 April 1899, in Poltavka village. In 1907 – 1913 he studied in Poltava local school. 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, 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, 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
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
1955 – decoration of Palace of Culture named after I.Franko
1956 – pictures "Golden autumn", "Over the Dnieper", "Botanical garden", "Still-life with fish", "Flowers", etc.
1957 – decoration of Palace of Culture "Kharchovyk"
1958 – 1963 – series of decorations for various buildings in Rovno, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kiev; after trip to Baltics republics creates number of landscapes
1965 – monumental paintings with polymeric material application: "Ornamental motif", "A woman with wheat", "Cossack Mamay", etc.
1970 – fresco paintings "Worker and Kolkhoz Woman", "Revolution is coming" etc. in Palace of Culture in Chernihiv. Series of sketches "Skify", "Yaroslav' message", "Golden Gate", "Prince Igor" etc.
1971 – mosaic "Kyi, Shchek and Khoryv" in "Rovesnik" movie theatre
1976 – 1979 – decoration of Palace of Culture in Lozova, Kharkiv Oblast'; series of portraits of Ukrainian culture activists: A. Dovzhenko, O.Soroka, M. Leontovych, G.Veryovka, V.Sosyura, etc.
Grigoriy Dovzhenko had a son, Taras Dovzhenko, who became a Merited Architect of Ukraine. Grigoriy Dovzhenko died on 21 April 1980 in Kiev and was buried on Baikove Cemetery.