Igor Valerievich Babailov (born February 9, 1965) is an American portrait artist known for his commissioned portraits of global leaders, celebrities and distinguished individuals. Some of his notable portraits include those of: U.S. President George W. Bush (

George W. Bush Presidential Library The George W. Bush Presidential Center, which opened on April 25, 2013, is a complex that includes former United States President George W. Bush's presidential library and museum, the George W. Bush Policy Institute, and the offices of the Geo ...

), U.S. Military Commander and CIA Director, General David H. Petraeus ( West Point Academy Museum),

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

(

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...

(

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

(

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African anti-apartheid activist who served as the first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country's first black head of state and the ...

, New York State Appellate Division Justice Joseph P. SullivanHon. Joseph P. Sullivan
(

Appellate Division Courthouse of New York State The Appellate Division Courthouse of New York State, First Department (also known as Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York) is a historic court house located at 35 East 25th Street at the corner of Madison Avenue, acro ...

), Mayor

Rudolph Giuliani Rudolph William Louis Giuliani (, ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 107th Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney General from 1981 to 198 ...

of New York (

Giuliani Partners Giuliani Partners LLC is a management consulting and security consulting business founded by former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani in January 2002.

), Canadian Prime Minister

Brian Mulroney Martin Brian Mulroney ( ; born March 20, 1939) is a Canadian lawyer, businessman, and politician who served as the 18th prime minister of Canada from 1984 to 1993. Born in the eastern Quebec city of Baie-Comeau, Mulroney studied political ...

(House of Commons), pianist

Byron Janis Byron Janis (born March 24, 1928) is an American classical pianist. He made several recordings for RCA Victor and Mercury Records, and occupies two volumes of the Philips series ''Great Pianists of the 20th Century''. His discography covers rep ...

(

Steinway Hall Steinway Hall (German: ) is the name of buildings housing concert halls, showrooms and sales departments for Steinway & Sons pianos. The first Steinway Hall was opened in 1866 in New York City. Today, Steinway Halls and are located in cities such ...

Templeton Prize The Templeton Prize is an annual award granted to a living person, in the estimation of the judges, "whose exemplary achievements advance Sir John Templeton's philanthropic vision: harnessing the power of the sciences to explore the deepest quest ...

recipient Michael Novak of the

American Enterprise Institute The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, known simply as the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), is a center-right Washington, D.C.–based think tank that researches government, politics, economics, and social welfare. ...

, Commander of the Pontifical Swiss Guard Col. Christoph Graf (

), TV personality

Regis Philbin Regis Francis Xavier Philbin (; August 25, 1931 – July 25, 2020)Archived aGhostarchiveand thWayback Machine was an American television presenter, talk show host, game show host, comedian, actor, and singer. Once called "the hardest working ma ...

and numerous other prominent figures for public and private collections. Besides portrait works, Babailov is also known for his large scale multi-figurative paintings, such as his “For Gold, God and Glory” painting and “Believe” painted for the Vatican on the occasion of the

World Youth Day World Youth Day (WYD) is an event for young people organized by the Catholic Church that was initiated by Pope John Paul II in 1985, sometimes nicknamed in later years as the "Catholic Woodstock". Its concept has been influenced by the Light-Li ...

Background and academia

Babailov began his formal art education at nine years of age. He received his Master of Fine Art's degree from the Surikov Academy of Fine Arts of The Moscow School of Painting acclaimed for its famous teachers and alumni:

Valentin Serov Valentin Alexandrovich Serov (russian: Валенти́н Алекса́ндрович Серо́в; 19 January 1865 – 5 December 1911) was a Russian painter and one of the premier portrait artists of his era. Life and work Youth and educ ...

Konstantin Korovin Konstantin Alekseyevich Korovin (russian: Константи́н Алексе́евич Коро́вин, first name often spelled Constantin; 11 September 1939) was a leading Russian Impressionist painter. Biography Youth and education Konstan ...

, and

Abram Arkhipov Abram Efimovich Arkhipov (russian: Абра́м Ефи́мович Архи́пов; – 25 September 1930) was a Russian realist artist, who was a member of the art collective The Wanderers as well as the Union of Russian Artists. Biog ...

among others. Scholar and advocate of the traditional values in visual arts, Mr. Babailov's teachings highlight the importance of drawing from life as a foundation for strong painting. Babailov holds workshops and portrait demonstrations in universities, art colleges, art societies, and private clubs in the US, Canada, and internationally. He is a public speaker, represented by the All American Speakers Bureau. Babailov has been featured in professional art publications and news media, such as:

The New York Daily News The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in ...

National Review ''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by the author William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief ...

The Moscow Times ''The Moscow Times'' is an independent English-language and Russian-language online newspaper. It was in print in Russia from 1992 until 2017 and was distributed free of charge at places frequented by English-speaking tourists and expatriates s ...

CBC News CBC News is a division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on the corporation's English-language operations, namely CBC Television, CBC Radio, CBC News Network, and CBC.c ...

CBC News
/ref> the Vatican's '' ZENIT'', '' Live with Regis and Kelly Show'',Live with Regis and Kelly Segment 1 - 06/11/03
/ref> ''The Artist's Magazine,''

The Artist's Magazine ''The Artist's Magazine'' is a monthly magazine for artists formerly published by F+W Media in Cincinnati, Ohio. The magazine was founded in 1983 and claims a circulation of 60,000. The founding company was Fletcher Art Services. F&W Publications ...

''(May 1998, April 1999) ''Art World News'',''Art World News'' July 2007, Volume XII Issue 7 ''International Artist'',''International Artist'' Volume 2 No. 11 Feb/March 2000 ''Classical Realism Journal'',''Classical Realism Journal'', Volume IV, Issue 1 ''

AskMen AskMen is a free online men's web portal, with international versions in Australia, Canada, the Middle East, the United Kingdom and the United States. It is owned by Ziff Davis and operates through the IGN Entertainment unit. History AskMen was ...

'', ''MercatorNet'', The ''Encyclopedia Tematica del Peru'',''Encyclopedia Tematica del Peru'', p.16, Empresa Editora Il Comercio,S.A (2004) and Italian American magazine ''Primo''.Primo Magazine September/October 2001
/ref>

Awards and honors

Awards and honors include: *The

Ellis Island Medal of Honor The Ellis Island Medal of Honor is an American award founded by the Ellis Island Honors Society (EIHS) (formerly known as the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations (NECO)), which is presented annually to American citizens, both native-born a ...

(2022) *Honorary

Doctor of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Doctor ...

Cumberland University Cumberland University is a private university in Lebanon, Tennessee. It was founded in 1842. The campus's current historic buildings were constructed between 1892 and 1896. History 1842-1861 The university was founded by the Cumberland ...

(2019) * George Washington's Mount Vernon Presidential Coin Award (2018) *Knighted Chevalier of the Order of St. Anne (2017) *Official Recognition ‘Resolution No.69’ by the

Tennessee Senate The Tennessee Senate is the upper house of the U.S. state of Tennessee's state legislature, which is known formally as the Tennessee General Assembly. The Tennessee Senate has the power to pass resolutions concerning essentially any issue reg ...

, signed by the Tennessee Governor (2015) *Elected Hon. Academician – The Russian Academy of Arts (2012) *Awarded title Honored Artist of

Udmurtia Udmurtia (russian: Удму́ртия, r=Udmúrtiya, p=ʊˈdmurtʲɪjə; udm, Удмуртия, ''Udmurtija''), or the Udmurt Republic (russian: Удмуртская Республика, udm, Удмурт Республика, Удмурт � ...

(2012) *The General David H. Petraeus Award ‘For Excellence’, presented by Gen. David H. Petraeus (2009) *Official Bronze Medal of the Pontificate of

, Vatican (2003) *Official Major League Baseball Award for Portraiture, presented at

Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the orig ...

, New York City, Joe DiMaggio Awards (2011) *Honored with the title ‘Living Master’ by the

Art Renewal Center The Art Renewal Center (ARC) is a non-profit, educational organization, which hosts an online museum dedicated to realist art. The ARC was founded by New Jersey businessman, author, and art collector Fred Ross. Particular emphasis is given to ...

(2002) *Grand Prize Winner – American Society of Portrait Artists Competition (1994) *Award ‘For Outstanding Achievement in Portrait Painting’ – National Portrait Seminar and American Artist Magazine (1993)

References

External links

*
The New York Daily News – VideoWhite House Christmas Ornaments
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20110728065329/http://www.streilein-foundation.org/clear_vision/clearVision_Winter08.pdf Streilein Foundation, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MAbr>The Post and Courier

Michael Novak’s portrait unveiling (YouTube)Flipkart.comAmazon.comIgor Babailov BiographyAskArt
{{DEFAULTSORT:Babailov, Igor Living people 1965 births 20th-century American painters American male painters 21st-century American painters 20th-century Russian painters Russian male painters 21st-century Russian painters American portrait painters 20th-century American male artists 20th-century Russian male artists 21st-century Russian male artists Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture alumni