Mask (1977) Printmaking by Nikolay Popov

Nikolay Tarasovich Popov was an outstanding Ukrainian artist and People's Artist of Ukraine. He was born on August 7, 1927, in the village of Yastrebivka in the Kursk region, into a peasant family. In 1934, his family moved to the Donbass region and settled in the city of Alchevsk in the Luhansk region. It was there that Nikolay began attending a drawing circle at a factory, which inspired him to pursue a career as a professional artist. After completing the seventh grade in 1941, he entered the Voroshilovgrad Art School (now Lugansk Art School).

However, his studies were interrupted due to the war. After the liberation of Alchevsk, Nikolay worked as a telephone operator at a factory while also engaging in various artistic design work. After the war, he resumed his studies at the art school, where his teacher Alexander Filbert helped him determine his future specialization, and Popov chose graphics.

From 1950 to 1956, Nikolay Popov studied at the Kyiv Art Institute in the workshop of Alexander Paschenko. His diploma work, "The Campaign of the K. Voroshilov Army in 1918," executed in the technique of color lithography, became a real success for the young artist. The work was exhibited at republican and all-union exhibitions, as well as at the international art exhibition in 1957 dedicated to the VI World Festival of Youth and Students.

After graduating from the institute, Popov worked as an editor and later became the chief artist of the republican publishing house "Radjanska Shkola." Since 1961, he became a member of the Union of Artists of Ukraine.

Popov primarily worked in the field of print graphics and painting, with a preference for lithography, etching, and drawing.

Starting from 1957, Nikolay Tarasovich Popov's works were regularly exhibited at republican, all-union, and international exhibitions. He taught at the Kyiv Art Institute from 1961 and became a professor and head of the Department of Graphic Arts in 1978.

In 1977, Popov became the head of the Republican Art Council for Graphics at the Art Foundation of the Ukrainian SSR and was elected multiple times to the Board of the Kyiv branch of the Union of Artists of Ukraine. He was awarded the Honorary Diploma of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Ukrainian SSR and various medals.

Since 1977, Nikolay Popov was recognized as a Merited Artist of the Ukrainian SSR, and in 1997, he received the title of People's Artist of Ukraine. His works are preserved in more than 40 museums in Ukraine, galleries, and private collections worldwide.

Nikolay Tarasovich Popov passed away on June 12, 2010. He was buried at the Baikove Cemetery in Kyiv, leaving behind a rich legacy and contribution to Ukrainian art.

• Nationality: UKRAINE
• Date of birth : 1927
• Artistic domains: Represented by a Gallery,
• Groups: Ukrainian Contemporary Artists Artists presented by a gallery