AVILOV Mikhail Ivanovich

September 18, 1882 (St. Petersburg) — April 14, 1954 (Leningrad)

Painter, graphic artist, scene-designer

Avilov studied at the Drawing school under the Society for the Encouragement of the Arts (1903); he also attended the L. E. Dmitriev-Kavkazskiy private school in St. Petersburg (1903–1904). In 1904–1913 Avilov continued to study as a noncredit student at the Higher Art Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture under the Imperial Academy of Art (IAKh); he studied in the class of battle-scene painting in the studio of F. A. Roubaud, since 1910 — in the studio of N. S. Samokish. In 1913 Avilov was conferred the title of an artist for the painting The young tsarevitch and boyars teachers.

Mikhail Avilov lived in St. Petersburg (Petrograd — Leningrad). He was engaged in the battle-scene painting, book illustration and poster. Avilov took part in the exhibitions of the A. I. Kuindzhi Society of Artists, exhibitions of the group Obshchina Khudozhnikov (“Artist Community”), the Society of Russian Watercolorists. In 1916 he was awarded the first prize of the Society for the Encouragement of the Arts (OPKh) for the painting Oprichnik. Avilov participated in the World War I (1914–1917). During the War he published his battle-scene sketches in the magazines.

After demobilization Avilov lived in Siberia (Tyumen, Irkutsk, and Barnaul), worked on the Narobraz’s (Department of People’s Education) instructions; he taught in the art schools, decorated squares and streets of the city for the holidays. Avilov collaborated with publishing houses, created scene designs.

In 1921 Avilov returned to Petrograd. He lectured at the School of the Society for the Encouragement of the Arts (OPKh), the State Free Art Studios — the Higher State Artistic and Technical Workshops (VKhUTEMAS), at Leningrad Technical School of Industrial Art. Since 1923 Avilov was a member of the Association of the artists of Revolutionary Russia (AKhRR); he participated in the exhibitions of this Association. Avilov created a series of works on the subject of the Civil War: The Siberian partisans (1926), The disarmament of the military units of the Kolchak’s army (1926), The 1st Cavalry Army’s breakthrough into the Poland front (1928).

In 1944 Avilov was conferred a title of the Honored Art Worker of RSFSR (Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic). In 1946 he was awarded the State Prize of USSR for the painting Single combat of Peresvet against Chelubei (1943). In 1953 he was conferred a title of the People’s Artist of the RSFSR. Avilov was also awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labour. After the Great Patriotic War he was a professor of the I. E. Repin Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. Since 1947 Avilov was a member of the USSR Academy of Arts.

Avilov was buried in the necropolis of the masters of art in the Aleksandro-Nevskaya lavra in St. Petersburg.

Mikhail Avilov was one of the significant battle-scene painters of the first half of the 20th century. In his art he continued traditions of the Russian realism art; he concentrated his attention on the historical details — equipment, uniforms, arms etc. He also tried to depict movement in painting; for this purpose he drew a lot of sketches of furniture, models, and horses. Avilov’s manner of painting was characterized by bright colors and graceful composition.

Works by Mikhail Avilov are in many museum collections, including the State Tretyakov Gallery, the State Russian Museum, the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts and others.