Yevgeny Kropivnitsky

Artist, poet. Husband of Olga Potapova, father of Lev Kropivnitsky and Valentina Kropivnitskaya, father-in-law of Oscar Rabin, grandfather of Alexander Rabin. Born in the family of Leonid Kropivnitsky in Moscow (1893). Studied under Valentin Serov and Konstantin Korovin at the Central Stroganov School of Technical Drawing (1904–11), graduating with the title of “learned draughtsman.” Worked in theatres as a designer and make-up artist and studied history at Sieniawski University in Moscow (1912–20). Called himself a poet of the outskirts, capturing the lives of the urban poor in his verses. Lived and worked in north Russia and Siberia (1920–23). Returned to Moscow (1923). Worked in various styles, but mostly drawn to Cubism and Expressionism (1920s–30s). Painted pictures in the spirit of the Knave of Diamonds (1920s). Headed the art studio of the Borovsky School and taught at houses of pioneers. Joined the Union of Artists (1939). Addressed everyday subjects, portraits and landscapes contrasting the official images of life in the Soviet Union (from 1940). Headed the Lianozovo group of poets and artists, named after the small town where he and his wife lived in a disused barrack hut, which made an important contribution to the nonconformist movement in Moscow (mid-1950s). Formed the Lianozovo group, named after the small town where he and his wife Olga Potapova lived in a disused army barrack (1960s). Expelled from the Union of Artists for organising the Lianozovo group (1963). Worked on a cycle of abstract pictures (1970s?). Died in Moscow (1979). Contributed to exhibitions in Russia (from 1937) and abroad (from 1976).