KOMAROV Aleksey Nikanorovich

October 1 (13), 1879 (Skorodnoye, Tula province) — March 31, 1977 (Moscow)

Graphic artist, painter, sculptor

Aleksey Komarov spent his childhood in the estate of his father near Tula. Later the family moved to Tula. He finished Tula non-classical secondary school. Komarov studied at Moscow school of painting, sculpture and architecture (MUZhVZ, 1897–1901) under the guidance of A. S. Stepanov, V. N. Baksheev, and N. A. Kasatkin.

Komarov lived in Tula (1884–1897), in Kazan (1920–1922), and in Moscow (1897–1920, 1922–1977). Since 1936 he often visited settlement Soviet artist near Kolomna.

In 1906 Komarov made a trip to Norway and Sweden, where he acquainted the works of the famous animal painter Bruno Liljefors. He traveled to Altai, Central Asia, Persia, Kazakhstan, the Crimea, the Caucasus, Ural, the North of Russia and many other places. Komarov was engaged in a lot of scientific expeditions as an artist. He was one of the significant Russian animal painters.

Komarov was also engaged in book graphic art. He illustrated and designed books (mostly children’s books) for publishing houses of I. N. Knebel, G. F. Mirimanov, I. D. Sytin; the State Publishing House (Gosizdat), the State Educational and Pedagogical Publishing House (Uchpedgiz), the publishing house Molodaya Gvardia, the publishing house of children’s literature (Detizdat), the publishing house Nauka (“Science”) and others. He illustrated different books: Russian folk tales by A. N. Afanasyev and A. E. Gruzinsky (1913–1914, together with M. M. Shcheglov), Three palms by M. Y. Lermontov (1915), Fables by I. A. Krylov (1918, 1923 and 1948), Stories for my children and Bulka and Milton by L. N. Tolstoy (1924; some original drawings in pen, Indian ink and pencil are in the L. N. Tolstoy Museum in Moscow), Travel writings by N. M. Przhevalsky (1941), Birds in USSR (1951–1954) and Writings of naturalist (1964) by E. P. Spangenberg, “Animals and birds of our country” by V. N. Shnitnikov (1957), albums Birds of Kazakhstan (1960–1970) and Mammals in USSR (1967–1972). He also illustrated school textbooks.

Publishing House of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee (VZIK) and the Publishing House Izogiz (“Fine Arts”) issued a series of animal posters and postcards after the originals of Komarov.

Since 1900s Komarov collaborated with Moscow magazines Shooting and hunting with hounds, Hunting Bulletin, Murzilka and many others. He drew a series of postage stamps (Fauna of USSR). He also painted a lot of pictures for the State Darwin Museum in Moscow.

In 1947 Aleksey Komarov was conferred the title of the Honoured Art Worker of RSFSR (Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic); in 1972 — the People’s Artist of the RSFSR.

Komarov exposed his works since 1903. He took part in the 3rd exhibition of graphic art (1928, Moscow); the 6th exhibition Life — Creative work (1929, Moscow); the art exhibition 20 years of the Red Army and Navy (1938, Moscow); the 6th exhibition of the Union of Moscow painters (1939, Moscow); the art exhibition of young artists, dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the All-Union Leninist Young Communist League (VLKSM, 1943, Moscow); the exhibition of easel graphic art of Moscow painters (1954, Moscow); the exhibition of painting, drawing, sculpture and scene-design in Moscow and Leningrad (1955, Moscow) and many others.

Personal exhibition of the artist were held in 1968, 1970, 1977, 1982 (all in Moscow), in 1978 (Krasnoyarsk), in 1979 (Minusinsk). In 2009 the personal exhibition of Komarov Kind Magician was held in the State Darwin Museum and was dedicated to the 130th anniversary of the artist.

Works by Aleksey Komarov are in many museum collections, including the State Darwin Museum of Natural History (Moscow), Kursk Regional Art Gallery, Moscow Regional Museum of Local History (Istra), Kolomna District Museum of Local History (Kolomna), the K. A. Timiryazev State Museum of Biology (Moscow) and others.