User:Garikow

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Biography Ivan Garikow 1918- 1982, renowned & listed Russian artist By martin mcdermott & arnold Garikow

On June 12, 1918, in the village of Belaya Glina, county of Krasnodar, in the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist republic of the Soviet Union, Ivan Ivanovitch Garikow (The Russian spelling, Iwan, appears on his paintings) was born, the fourth child of six (five brothers and one sister), to Anna (nee-Tschaiczkina) and Ivan Garikow. World War I ended but civil war continued to rage throughout Russia. After Lenin’s takeover of the Russian government became a reality, Joseph Stalin’s ascension to power soon followed. Stalin implemented numerous purges upon the Russian people; victimizing, ostracizing and executing millions of anticommunist dissidents. Through all of this turbulence, Ivan spent his youth on a horse ranch and attending elementary school. Upon completion of his elementary school education, his artistic ability was noted and Ivan was sent to painters’ school. At age eighteen, he submitted his art work for consideration to the REPIN ACADEMY OF PAINTING, SCULPTURE AND ARCHITECTURE in Leningrad. Ivan was accepted as a student. The REPIN ACADEMY, the most prestigious art school in the Soviet Union, is currently part of Leningrad State University. The school is located inside the Petropavloskaya Fortress, built by Peter the Great; started in 1706 and completed in 1741. The fortress was built on a small island on the Neva River and was the start of St. Petersburg. In 1937, Ivan made the thousand-mile pilgrimage to Leningrad from Belaya Glina to study art. While attending the Art Academy (1937-41), there were many times he went without shoes or overcoats. Soup and an occasional piece of bread were his meals, and more times than not, he went completely without food. Housing was shared with 6-8 other students in one room, with most of them sleeping on the floor. Upon completion of his studies at the REPIN ACADEMY in the late spring of 1941, Ivan took a job as interior decorator in the resort city of Petrasowodsk, located a few miles northeast of Leningrad. Unknown to him, his stay there was to be extremely short-lived. On Jun 22, 1941, Adolph Hitler’s armies invaded the Soviet Union and the siege of Leningrad ensued. Along with hundreds of thousands of other Slavic people, Ivan Garikow was taken prisoner. He, along with the others, was considered to be an “untermench” (sub-human). As we now know, these people were designated to be exterminated as undesirables by the Nazi regime. As a prisoner of those occupation forces, he asked to speak with the officer-in-charge. Knowing that death was an imminent certainty, he requested a piece of charcoal. The officer granted his request and upon receiving the charcoal, Ivan proceeded to do a large portrait of Christ on his cell wall. The officer was so impressed with Ivan’s drawing that he assigned him to a compulsory labor factory in Krems, Austria, rather than be shipped off to a concentration camp and sure death.

Suddenly, he was deported for forced labor to Krems where he spent the next four years of his life as a captive. It is possible that he was sent to the infamous Mausthausen camp, presided over by Franz Siereis. Some say that this evil man was the model for some of Ivan’s darker work. In March of 1945, Ivan escaped his captors and took a job in a tobacco factory in Sankt Valentin (Lower Austria). This, again, was to be short-lived. Imminent occupation by the Soviet army into Sankt Valentin and vivid memories of his life in the Soviet Union forced him to flee to Salzburg, Austria. Salzburg was in the United States’ zone of occupation. There, here know he could find freedom. World War II finally ended. Ivan survived the early post-war years by painting people’s portraits, farms and homes. Many times, he would do the work first, show it to the property owners and trade the paintings for food. He took work as a mason to supplement his income and furious continued to paint. His big break came between August 14-19, 1948, when his oil painting, SALZBURG, was exhibited in the very first and largest art exhibit of it’s kind following World Word II. Hundreds of paintings were shown at this GROSSE AUSTELLUNG. The directors of the exhibit admired his work so much that they featured it prominently in the vestibule. As his work started to be recognized, photographic reproductions were also made and sold to tourists as postcards. In the winter of 1948, Ivan decided to advertise for a model in the Salzburg newspapers. These ads brought Maria Schneider with her two daughters (Lili and Lana) to his studio. During the ensuing months, he became enamored with Lili’s beauty. On April 6, 1949, just 2.5 months shy of his 31st birthday, an old world “arranged” marriage took place. Lili was just sixteen. A scant two months later, on June 4, 1949, Ivan registered at the Assembly Centre Hellbrunn as a displaced person, in hopes of going to the United States for total freedom and opportunity. However, a new person now entered Ivan’s life. On February 17, 1950, Lili and Ivan’s only child, Arnold, was born. Even with this new development, the incompatibility of their ages and other irreconcilable differences forced their divorce on December 1, 1950. Although the divorce was finalized, Ivan continued to maintain a close personal relationship with his former in-laws. On June 6, 1951, Ivan applied for a United States Visa (Immigration and Alien Registration #I-517128). One month later, July 5, 1951, he was granted Immigration Visa #2602/72 at the Displaced Persons Visa Office of Salzburg. His last European address was: Barrack #6, Camp Parsch, Salzburg, Austria. His new European Code #161323 now appeared on Master List #79 for resettlement to his newly adopted country. Ivan’s passage to the United States, along with thousands of others, was arranged by the International Refugee Organization, in accordance with the Immigration Act of 1924 and the Displaced Persons Act of June 25, 1948. Among the others accepted for relocation to the United States at this time were his former in-laws, his ex-wife and his son. All necessary paperwork having been taken care of, Ivan and the new immigrants awaited official word from the American authorities. In August of 1951, confirmation arrived and the immigrants prepared to depart for their new country. However, one surprising turn of events occurred: Lili decided NOT to depart for America and to keep his son with her in Europe. Even this turn of events did not dissuade Ivan from gambling to secure a new homeland. On August 21, 1951, Ivan Garikow sailed to the United States from the German port of Bremenhaven aboard the USNS General Harry Taylor (T-AP145). He arrived in New York City on September 10, 1951 and disembarked on American soil at Ellis Island as passenger #126. Now, 33 years old, his first temporary address was listed as: Presbyterian, U.S.A., 156 Fifth Avenue, N.Y. 10 N.Y.; with his first intended employer – Church World Services, Blount Avenue and Chapman Highway, Knoxville 15 Tennessee. This changed almost immediately, when on Tuesday, September 18, 1951,, he left New York City at 3:30PM on train #177 (THE SENATOR) and arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at the 30th Street Station. His time of arrival: 5:03, the same day. Temporary residency was established with Reverent A.M. Long, 1203 Sough 47th Street, Philadelphia. After a number of weeks, he accepted a job with Newman art Galleries, 1625 Walnut Street. Newman Galleries, along with other businesses in the United States, was more than happy to accept this new blood into the mainstream of its expertise. Along with other artists that had similar backgrounds, Ivan worked for Newman in an effort to become an integral and influential part of the American artistic community. Ivan continued to paint on his own time. Initial recognition was not far off when on July 7, 1952, less than one year after entry to the United States, his photograph appeared on Page B-3 of the PHILADELPHIA EVENING BULLETING. For weeks, Ivan stood on a traffic island on the intersection of South Broad and Pine Streets, ignoring his own safety while painting a view of Philadelphia’s city hall. With a deep love for all the arts, he constantly attended the theatre, ballet, films, musical events and art exhibits around the Philadelphia area. He freely discussed and enjoyed being able to socialize with his fellow artisans the scope and nature of these cultural happenings without fear of political retribution. During the same year, Lili finally realized she could no longer support both herself and her son on her own. In 1953, she sent Arnold to the United States via the Red Cross. Because Ivan was still single, arrangements were made to have his son brought up by Lili’s mother. In 1954, Ivan joined the Art Talents Association of Philadelphia. With this, his painting, LETTER, was accepted for exhibition in New York City at the Barbizon-Plaza Art Gallery (106 Central Park South) from May 8 to May 20 of 1954. With success and encouragement, he saved money and painted enough works to open his own studio/gallery in Philadelphia at 530 West Girard Avenue on April 23, 1955. Two weeks later, May 5, 1955, an article in the PHILADELPHIA MIDTOWN CRIER reported that several more of his paintings were accepted for exhibition at Barbizon-Plaza in New York. News articles of his works started to appear in local papers in and around Philadelphia. Ivan moved his studio/gallery to 989 North 6th Street and continued to await further success, which he now felt was inevitable. Unknown to him, he exercised poor judgment in choosing the location of his new studio. On February 16, 1962, as he was walking along the Philadelphia streets, Ivan was mugged and all his money and personal identification was taken – an omen of things to come. Even with this mugging adversely affecting him and with all the abominable circumstances that he had already endured, his faith remained undaunted in procuring his share of the American dream. By April 5, 1962, he saved enough money to place $500 down on his own house at 1238 North 5th Street. This move, a joyous occasion for him at the time, proved to be disastrous and his undoing. The marginal neighborhood in which he had invested his hard-earned money continued to deteriorate. Ivan kept on working for Newman Galleries, but his personal habitat was one of squalor, constant vandalism and degeneration. During the 60’s, Newman Galleries initiated a restoration program for art works and historical documents which eventually became so successful it attained national prominence and attention. These restorative techniques and procedures allowed Newman Galleries to work with art at the Washington, D.C. Art Museum, the Philadelphia Art Museum and many other public and private collectives throughout the United States. Although the Newman Galleries successes were great, Ivan’s personal life went from one disaster to another. “Family” members constantly tried to convince him to sell his property in Philadelphia and move. He, however, remained adamant in his resolution that Providence would intervene and the discovery of his true talent was soon to come. September 25, 1971 held for him another mugging. In 1972, his home/gallery was broken into and three of his oil paintings were stolen. Another burglary occurred in 1974 with 6 more paintings stolen. Ivan finally confided to his son, “There have been many many break-ins at my home over the past years. Whoever broke in this last time knew exactly what he was doing. He stole some of my best works!” In March and April of 1978, the break-ins continued and his home suffered continued vandalism. Finally Ivan became totally despondent and reclusive. The only journeys from his home were now to work. In the early 1980’s, paranoia had become his final cocoon. No one was welcome into his home, with the exception of his son, Arnold. On April 26, 1982, at the age of 64, hopelessly defeated and completely bed-ridden from ill health, Ivan Garikow died in his sleep. Although the death certificate cited “dehydration and malnutrition” as the cause of death, the TRUE cause was the final futility of a lifetime of submission and despair.