Samokhvalov Alexander Nikolaevich

Painter, graphic artist, sculptor, stage designer, artist of decorative art.

In the early 1910s he attended classes at the private school of J. S. Goldblat in St. Petersburg. In 1914–1918 he studied at the Higher Art School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture at the Russian Academy of Arts with V. A. Belyaev and G. R. Zaleman, in 1920–1923 - at the Petrograd Vkhutemas Higher Art and Technical Studios with K. S. Petrov-Vodkin, D. N. Kardovsky, A. A. Rylov, V. E. Savinsky. In 1921, as part of an expedition of the Institute of the History of Material Culture, he traveled to Samarkand.

He lived in Leningrad. From 1917 he participated in exhibitions. He was a member of the World of Art Association (since 1917), the Community of Artists (since 1922), the Association of New Trends in Art (since 1922), the Heat of Color (since 1924), the Circle of Artists (1926–1930 ), “October” (since 1930). He was engaged in book graphics, collaborated with the Rainbow Publishing House, Detgiz. In 1932 he painted the picture “Girl in a T-shirt”, which was awarded a gold medal at the World Exhibition in Paris (1937) and became the programmatic work of Soviet art of the 1930s. He created the pictorial and graphic series “Metrostroyevki” (The Metro Builders, 1934–1937) and “Physculturnitsy” (The Physical Education Students, 1935).

Since the mid-1930s he worked as a stage designer. He designed the performances of “The Brideless” by A. N. Ostrovsky at the State Bolshoi Drama Theater in Leningrad (1935), “Hot Heart” by Ostrovsky, “Glass of Water” by E. Skrib in the Pushkin Academic Drama Theater in Leningrad (both in 1943) and others.
In the 1930s, he collaborated with the Lomonosov State Porcelain Factory, created sculpture models and sketches of porcelain painting.

In 1940, Leningrad hosted the first personal exhibition of Samokhvalov (together with G.M. Manizer), followed by the exhibitions of 1963 and 1964 in Moscow. In 1948–1951 he taught at the Leningrad Higher Industrial Art School. In 1967 he was awarded the title of Honored Artist of the RSFSR. In 1977, Samokhvalov’s memoirs, My Creative Path, was published.

A retrospective exhibition of the artist took place in 1974 at the State Russian Museum.

Samokhvalov is an outstanding master of Soviet art, who created his own recognizable style in painting, drawing, and decorative and applied art. In his work, he combined the features of expressionism with the ideological program of socialist realism, very accurately expressing the "spirit of the 1930s." His works are imbued with the joy of life and optimism, the main characters of the paintings are energetic young creators of a new life - athletes, metro builders, factory workers. The artist’s works are distinguished by monumentality, freedom of pictorial manner, and brightness of color.

Samokhvalov’s works are presented in the largest museum collections in Russia and private collections, including the State Tretyakov Gallery, the State Russian Museum, and the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts and others.