ARAPOV Alexey Alexeevich (Alexey Paul)

December 6, 1905 (St. Petersburg) — September 25, 1948 (South Ashburnham, USA)

Painter, scene-designer, sculptor, icon painter

Alexey Arapov was born to a noble family in St. Petersburg. His father was medical major general; his mother was one of the first women — eye surgeons, niece of Leo Tolstoy. After revolution in 1917, the family left St. Petersburg and moved to Saratov (according another information, they moved before revolution). In 1918 Arapov finished gymnasium. After revolution the family lived in the German colony near Saratov. There Arapov studied painting under the guidance of Austrian painter Hans van Bergler (afterwards he became professor of Vienna Academy of Arts). In 1921 Arapov entered the Art Institute in Saratov.

In 1923 Arapov moved to Moscow; he worked as a designer, created furniture design for the worker’s clubs. He painted official portraits and agitation posters. At the same time Arapov worked as a scene-designer, in particular he created scene and costume designs for the avant-garde theatre of N. M. Foregger. The actor Nikolay Simonov acquainted Arapov with the modern French theatre. Later Arapov began to work as a theatre designer for the troupe of the Theatre Krivoye Zerkalo (“Distorting Mirror”).

In 1924 Arapov together with the theatre troupe went on tour to Europe. Later he decided not to return to the USSR. Arapov had been living in Paris for five years (1925–1930); he successfully participated in several group exhibitions together with Ivan Pougny, Andre Lanskoy, Ilya Zdanevich, Natalia Goncharova and Mikhail Larionov. Arapov also took part in the Autumn Salon (1926), in the Salon of Independents (1928) and in the exhibitions in Paris galleries Hirshman (1929), Zak (1930), L’Epoque (1931). In 1928 Arapov exposed his works in the Russian section of the exhibition The Modern French Art in Moscow. Several personal exhibitions of the artist were held in the galleries M. Henri (1927), Percier (1928) and Ch.-A. Girard (1930) in Paris.

In 1930 Arapov moved with his American wife Catherine Green to the USA. He lived in Boston, painted landscapes of the North coast, and drew sketches and watercolors of the members of his family. He painted also a series of landscapes of Harvard, Boston and its environs. However, he was interested in religious painting most of all. In 1935 for the first time Arapov exposed his sketches for the painting series, dedicated to the Passion of Christ and the Way of Jesus Christ to the Cross. His personal exhibition was held in the Grace Horne Gallery in Boston. Arapov participated in the exhibitions; he was engaged in literary activities; he delivered lectures on history and theory of art. In 1938 exhibitions of Arapov’s works were held in the New England Conservatory of Music and Boston Centre of Arts.

In 1934 Arapov accepted Catholicism. This fact impacted very much on the Arapov’s art. The last ten years he devoted his time to the religious painting, in particular to the Byzantine icon. After 1940 Arapov was engaged in revival of the technique of the Old Russia icon; he worked as an icon painter. He painted landscapes and portraits rarely. In 1947 Arapov conceived the project of foundation of the Church Art Society, but it was not implemented because of the artist’s death in car wreck near Boston on the 25th of September in 1948.

In 1952 retrospective exhibition of Alexey Arapov’s works (paintings, gouaches, drawings and icons) was held in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.