ARCHIPENKO Alexander Porfirievich

May 30, 1887 (Kiev) — February 25, 1964 (New York)

Sculptor, teacher

Alexander Archipenko was born to family of engineer-inventor, head of the physics laboratory in Kiev University. The grandfather of the painter was an icon painter. Archipenko began to study painting in 1900–1901 by copying the drawings of Michelangelo from book.

Since 1902 Archipenko studied in Kiev Art School, in 1905 he was expelled from the School. Archipenko continued his education in private studios in Moscow. He began to work in Moscow School of painting, sculpture and architecture (MUZhVZ). Later he moved to France, lived in the artist’s residence La Ruche (The beehive) in Paris. He also studied in the School of Fine Arts in Paris. Archipenko together with A. Modigliani studied the sculpture of ancient Egypt, Assyria, the Central America and Africa. In 1910 he together with A. Exter, K. Malevich, P. Picasso, G. Braque, A. Derain and others participated in the Salon of Independents in Paris, took part in the exhibitions in The Hague and Berlin. In the same year Archipenko together with the cubist artists and sculptors founded the studio in Montparnasse. In 1912 Archipenko founded his own art school in Paris. At the same time the first personal exhibition of Archipenko was held in Hagen in Germany. Later he made a long trip with the exhibitions of his works in Italy, Sweden, Germany, and Czechia. In 1914 he moved to Nice.

In 1921 Archipenko moved to Berlin and founded one more art school. In the same year the personal exhibition of works of the sculptor was organized in the Museum of Modern Art in New York. After this exhibition a lot of monographs about Archipenko were published in almost all European countries and in Russia.

In 1923 Archipenko moved to the USA; in 1929 he was granted the American citizenship. In the USA Archipenko created several art studios and schools: in Woodstock (1924), in Los Angeles (1935), Chicago (late 1930s) and many others. He worked in the Institute of Drawing (Chicago), Washington University (Seattle), Kansas-City University, in New Bauhaus. He also gave lectures in different cities of the USA.

Alexander Archipenko early obtained the recognition. During his life approximately 110 personal exhibitions of the sculptor were held in the best galleries and museums of the world.

In 1964 Archipenko died in his studio in New York.

Works by Alexander Archipenko are in many museum collections, including the State Hermitage Museum, many museums of Europe, USA, and Israel; his works are also in private collections.