Mikhail Bogatyrev

Bogatyrev’s artistic career is highlighted by exhibitions, honors and extensive travel. He created his first series dedicated to portraits of craftsmen from 1957 to 1959. Later, in 1965, his travels took him to Vologda and Arkhangelsk Regions and three years later, he traveled to Czechoslovakia as part of the USSR Union of Artists’ Delegation. It was during that time, between the years 1964 and 1966, that he worked on portraits of factory workers living in the town of Elektrostal resulting in the a series of paintings displayed at the Zonal Exhibition entitled “In A Single Formation”. Two years later, Bogatyrev worked at the suburban Moscow collective farm “Lesnye Polyany” in preparation for the exhibition entitled “Land and People” traveling to France during the same year (1968).

Born on November 23 in the town of Zvenigorod, Mikhail Grigorovich Bogatyrev did not start out as a painter. He attended middle school in Moscow and after graduation, worked for five years at the Moscow Aircraft-Building Plant where he was decorated with the medal for “Moscow Defense”. But, while working at the plant, he studied one year (1944-1945) at the Art Studio of Central Trade Union Headquarters.

The well of artistic ability tapped, Bogatyrev continued on and began studying at the Moscow 1905 Memorial Art School under renown professors V.N. Baksheev and S.G. Grigoryev in 1945. 1950 to 1956 saw him attending the Moscow State Art Institute named after Vasilii Surikov. His teachers were P.V. Malkov, G.G. Korolev and Professor Vasili Efanov. While in school, Bogatyrev traveled to Vladimir, Riga, Odessa, and the Ural mountains and put in some time working at the Moscow Regional Art Foundation in 1952.

His travel, work and art resulted in Bogatyrev being awarded the medal for “Valiant Labor” in 1970. Two years later he began working as part of the artists’ team in the town of Pushchino. The next year, he worked on a series of paintings at the country house “Akademichka”.

Finally, in 1975 Bogatyrev marked a high point in his career, his first personal exhibition, held in Khimki, Moscow.

Mikhail continued to produce abundantly through the 1980s. Work on portraits commissioned by a local museum took him to the city of Tomsk, Samus village, in 1986. Two years later a business trip to the Khabarovsk Region provided the opportunity to work on the portraits of local dignitaries. 1989 arrived and another business trip took him to the town of Livny, Orel Region, to collect materials for portraits to be hung in the local museum there. Finally, Bogatyrev was elected member of the Board of Directors of the RFUA Moscow Branch as well as a delegate to the RFUA Congresses. Mikhail took great pride in receiving the medal titled “Fortieth Anniversary of Victory in the Second World War 1941-1945” during this very active period of his life.

Mikhail Bogatyrev’s works are beautifully displayed in many national museums. The artist’s work is also a prized possession in many private collections in Russia and abroad.