Gleb W. Derujinsky (Глеб Владимирович Дерюжинский; August 13, 1888 – March 9, 1975) was a Russian-American sculptor.

Biography

Born in Otradnoye, in the

Smolensky Uyezd Smolensky Uyezd (''Смоленский уезд'') was one of the subdivisions of the Smolensk Governorate of the Russian Empire. It was situated in the central part of the governorate. Its administrative centre was Smolensk. Demographics At the t ...

of the

Smolensk Governorate Smolensk Governorate () was an administrative-territorial unit ('' guberniya'') of the Tsardom of Russia, the Russian Empire, and the Russian SFSR. It existed, with interruptions, between 1708 and 1929. Smolensk Governorate, together with seven o ...

of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

, he was related to

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov. At the time, his name was spelled , which he romanized as Nicolas Rimsky-Korsakow; the BGN/PCGN transliteration of Russian is used for his name here; ALA-LC system: , ISO 9 system: .. (18 March 1844 – 2 ...

on his father's side and the painter

Mikhail Vrubel Mikhail Aleksandrovich Vrubel (; – ) was a Russian painter, draughtsman, and sculptor. A prolific and innovative master in various media such as painting, drawing, decorative sculpture, and theatrical art, Vrubel is generally character ...

on his mother's. He completed his law degree at the University of Petrograd to meet his father's expectations, but devoted his entire life to sculpture. His artistic studies began in the years 1896–1901 at the Drawing School of the

Imperial Society for the Encouragement of the Arts The Imperial Society for the Encouragement of the Arts (Russian: Императорское общество поощрения художеств (ОПХ)) was an organization devoted to promoting the arts that existed in Saint Petersburg from ...

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

, his teacher being sculptor Giovanni Andreoletti, the talented pedagogue and professor at the Academy of Arts. Having finally decided in favour of art as his life-work, Derujinsky moved to Paris in 1912, where he continued his studies at the

Académie Colarossi The Académie Colarossi (1870–1930) was an art school in Paris founded in 1870 by the Italian model and sculptor Filippo Colarossi. It was originally located on the Île de la Cité, and it moved in 1879 to 10 rue de la Grande-Chaumière in the ...

and at the

Académie Julian The () was a private art school for painting and sculpture founded in Paris, France, in 1867 by French painter and teacher Rodolphe Julian (1839–1907). The school was active from 1868 through 1968. It remained famous for the number and qual ...

, where he was befriended by

Rodin François Auguste René Rodin (; ; 12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a u ...

. He returned to

in 1903 and continued his studies at the

Imperial Academy of Arts The Imperial Academy of Arts, informally known as the Saint Petersburg Academy of Arts, was an art academy in Saint Petersburg, founded in 1757 by Ivan Shuvalov, the founder of the Imperial Moscow University, under the name ''Academy of th ...

, Sculpture department, where he received seven first prizes, the first to receive this distinction and was nominated for the

Prix de Rome The Prix de Rome () or Grand Prix de Rome was a French scholarship for arts students, initially for painters and sculptors, that was established in 1663 during the reign of Louis XIV of France. Winners were awarded a bursary that allowed them t ...

. He participated in the Academy exhibitions and those organized by the Society for the traveling art exhibitions (

Peredvizhniki Peredvizhniki (, ), often called The Wanderers or The Itinerants in English, were a group of Russian realism (arts), realist artists who formed an artists' cooperative in protest of academic restrictions; it evolved into the ''Society for Trave ...

), and others. In 1918 he graduated from the Academy and emigrated to the United States in 1919. His original sculptures in plaster done from life include

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

Sergei Rachmaninoff Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and Conducting, conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a compos ...

Sergei Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''. , group=n ( – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor who l ...

Lillian Gish Lillian Diana Gish (October 14, 1893 – February 27, 1993) was an American actress best known for her work in movies of the silent era. Her film-acting career spanned 75 years, from 1912, in silent film shorts, to 1987. Gish was dubbed the "F ...

Lady Diana Cooper Diana Cooper, Viscountess Norwich (née Lady Diana Olivia Winifred Maud Manners; 29 August 1892 – 16 June 1986) was an English silent film actress and aristocrat who was a well-known social figure in London and Paris. As a young woman, she ...

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Thakur (; anglicised as Rabindranath Tagore ; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengalis, Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer, and painter of the Bengal Renai ...

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

Adlai Stevenson Adlai Stevenson may refer to: * Adlai Stevenson I Adlai Ewing Stevenson (October 23, 1835 – June 14, 1914) was an American politician and diplomat who served as the 23rd vice president of the United States from 1893 to 1897 under President Gr ...

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...

José Raúl Capablanca José Raúl Capablanca y Graupera (19 November 1888 – 8 March 1942) was a Cuban chess player who was the third World Chess Championship, world chess champion from 1921 to 1927. A chess prodigy, he was widely renowned for his exceptional Chess ...

and many others. Derujinsky's works are in the permanent collections of major museums in the United States and Europe as well as many churches and public buildings. In 1925, he designed and patented the "Rearing Lion" hood ornament for the Franklin automobile. In 1933 he was elected into the

National Academy of Design The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Frederick Styles Agate, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, an ...

as an Associate member, and became a full Academician in 1953. Derujinsky is credited with "The Letter" (1940) which is on display at the Logan Post Office in Logan in Logan County. The work was commissioned by the

Treasury Section of Fine Arts A treasury is either *A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry; in a business context, corporate treasury. *A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be st ...

as part of the

New Deal The New Deal was a series of wide-reaching economic, social, and political reforms enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1938, in response to the Great Depression in the United States, Great Depressi ...

. His son, Gleb Derujinsky (1925–2011), was one of the most in demand fashion photographers of his time. He died on March 9, 1975, at the age of 86 in his New York home.

References

External links

Four exhibition catalogs
of the artist, available from the Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Derujinsky, Gleb W. 1888 births 1975 deaths People from Pochinkovsky District, Smolensk Oblast People from Smolensky Uyezd 19th-century sculptors from the Russian Empire 19th-century American male artists 20th-century Russian sculptors 20th-century American male artists Russian male sculptors White Russian emigrants to the United States American people of Russian descent 20th-century American sculptors American male sculptors Saint Petersburg State University alumni Académie Colarossi alumni National Sculpture Society members 19th-century male artists from the Russian Empire 20th-century Russian male artists

Biography

See also

References

External links