Jacques Hnizdovsky (Ukrainian: Яків Гніздовський, Polish: Jakub Gniazdowski, Croatian: Jakiv Hnizdovskij), (1915–1985) was a Ukrainian-American painter, printmaker, graphic designer, illustrator and sculptor.
Jacques Hnizdovsky
Jacques Hnizdovsky carving the woodblock "Two Rams" in his studio in New York, 1969
He began his fine arts studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. Germany's invasion of Poland and bombardment of Warsaw forced Jacques to flee Warsaw and continue his studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb. He was classically trained and had a great interest in portraiture, but Hnizdovsky was entirely self-taught in the art of printmaking.
Hnizdovsky created hundreds of paintings, pen and ink drawings and watercolors, as well as over 377 woodcuts, etchings and linocuts after his move to the United States in 1949. He was greatly inspired by woodblock printing in Japan as well as the woodcuts of Albrecht Dürer. Influences on his early works can be seen on his website.[1]
Hnizdovsky printed all his woodcuts and linocuts himself at his home studio. Woodcuts and linocuts were printed on washi, which is erroneously translated as "rice paper"[2]
Hnizdovsky's prints frequently depict flora and fauna, and there are several reasons for him largely shifting his focus from the human form. His first few years in the United States were marred by financial difficulties, language difficulties and a creative crisis. But what at first were merely substitutes for the human form. later became his most cherished subjects. He was well known in all the botanical and zoological gardens in New York, where he would find subjects willing to pose at no cost. At the Bronx Zoo, he found many models that were willing to
pose "for peanuts". Andy, the orangutan, who opened the Ape House of the Bronx Zoo when he was just a baby, was one of Hnizdovsky's favorite models.[3] When Andy died, the Bronx Zoo immediately purchased the Hnizdovsky woodcut in remembrance of Andy. Another favorite Bronx Zoo model was the sheep. Hnizdovsky's The Sheep would become his best known print, illustrating the poster for his very successful exhibition at the Lumley Cazalet Gallery in London. This poster, incidentally, can be seen in the kitchen scene of the film The Hours.
Hnizdovsky has exhibited widely and his works are in the permanent collections of many museums worldwide. The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston has a large collection of his prints, as does the University of Mount Olive in North Carolina, which presumably has the largest collection of Hnizdovsky prints worldwide.
Hnizdovsky designed numerous book covers and illustrated many books. He also designed several postage stamps and a souvenir sheet for the Ukrainian Plast postal service (issued in 1954 and 1961).
Jacques Hnizdovsky died on November 8, 1985, in Bronxville, New York, and is buried at the Lychakivskiy Cemetery in Lviv, Ukraine. His archives are housed at the Slavic and Baltic Division of the New York Public Library.[4]
Jacques Hnizdovsky terra-cotta, 1950s
Jacques Hnizdovsky terra-cotta, 1950s
Jacques Hnizdovsky terra-cotta, 1950s
Jacques Hnizdovsky terra-cotta, 1950s
Jacques Hnizdovsky terra-cotta, 1950s
Jacques Hnizdovsky terra-cotta, 1950s
Jacques Hnizdovsky terra-cotta, 1950s
Jacques Hnizdovsky terra-cotta, 1950s
Jacques Hnizdovsky terra-cotta, 1950s
Jacques Hnizdovsky terra-cotta, 1950s
Books illustrating the work of Hnizdovskyedit
Tahir, Abe M. Jr (1987). Jacques Hnizdovsky Woodcuts and Etchings. Pelican Publishing Co. ISBN 0-88289-487-0.
Shows all prints created during the artist's lifetime, a catalogue raisonné, profusely illustrated with images.
Tahir, Abe M. Jr (1975). Hnizdovsky Woodcuts 1944-1975, a Catalogue Raissonné. Pelican Publishing Co.. ISBN 0-88289-149-9, ISBN 0-88289-072-7, ISBN 0-88289-150-2.
Shows prints created between 1944-1975, a catalogue raisonné, profusely illustrated with images.
Hnizdovsky, Jacques (1986). Jacques Hnizdovsky Ex Libris. S. Hnizdovsky. ASIN B0007BYZ94
Shows 54 Ex Libris designs that the artist created for family, collectors, museums and libraries.
Publicationsedit
A partial list of books illustrated by Jacques Hnizdovsky.[5]
The Poems of John Keats, 1964
Ukrainian Folk Tales, 1964
The Auk, the Dodo, and the Oryx, 1967
The Poems of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, 1967
Tree Trails of Central Park, 1971
Flora Exotica, 1972
The Poems of Thomas Hardy, 1979
The Traveler's Tree, 1980
The Poetry of Robert Frost, 1981
Signum Et Verbum, 1981
A Green Place, 1982
The Violin of Monsieur Ingres, 1983
Jacques Hnizdovsky Ex Libris, 1986
Birds and Beasts, 1990
Behind the King's Kitchen, 1992
The Girl in Glass, 2002
The Adventurous Gardener, 2005
Public collectionsedit
Among the public collections holding works by Jacques Hnizdovsky are:[6]
National Museum of Ukrainian Fine Arts, Kyiv, Ukraine, 1990
Philadelphia Art Alliance, Philadelphia PA1961
Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY, 1970
Roberson Center for the Arts and Sciences, Binghamton, NY, 1974
Salpeter Gallery, New York NY, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1964
Sweet Briar College, Sweet Briar VA, 1984
Tahir Gallery, New Orleans, 1967, 1971, 1974, 1976
Ternopil Natural History Museum, Temopil, Ukraine, 1990
Troup Gallery, Dallas TX, 1966, 1971
Tryon Fine Art Center, Tryon NC, 1974
Ukrainian Canadian Art Foundation, Toronto, ON, 1983, 1985
Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art, Chicago IL, 1978, 1985
University of Mount Olive, NC, 1972, 1984
University of Virginia, Charlottesville VA, 1978, 1980, 1982, 1986
Van Straaten Gallery, Chicago IL, 1971 (currently Denver CO)
Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Sweet Briar VA, 1979, 1981
Westwood Gallery, Westwood, MA, 1973
Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg MB, 1973
Yale University, New Haven CT, 1977
Traveling One-Man Showsedit
Burnaby Art Gallery, Burnaby BC, 1985-1986
Fendrick Gallery, Washington DC, 1987
United States Information Service, Kyiv, 1995-1996
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond VA, 1987-1992
Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg MB, 1973
Group exhibitionsedit
Audubon Artists, 1975
Boston Printmakers, 1962
National Academy of Design, 1963, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1980
Pratt Graphic Center, 1975-1985
Society of American Graphic Artists, 1965-1985
Triennale Internazionale della Xilografia, 1972
Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taiwan, 1983, 1985
US Information Agencies in Europe, Asia, South America and Africa, 1963, 1965, 1967, 1968
Referencesedit
^Reflections of an Artist Archived 2014-09-13 at the Wayback Machine
^In fact, rice paper is made from paper mulberry, also known as broussonetia papyrifera. Please see the following link Archived 2008-09-15 at the Wayback Machine for more information on the production of this beautiful handmade paper, which is likened to raw silk because of its texture and the tiny specks of raw plant fibers embedded in the paper.
^For a full list of American and Ukrainian books illustrated by Jacques Hnizdovsky, please contact the Slavic and Baltic Division of the New York Public Library, which houses the entire collection.
^Jacques Hnizdovsky Яків Гніздовський published by the Ukrainian Museum on the occasion of the exhibition Jacques Hnizdovsky 1915-1985, Retrospective Exhibition December 10, 1995 - March 3, 1996
^"Kyiv, another 11 streets were derusified, Kateryna Gandzuk was immortalized". Ukrayinska Pravda (in Ukrainian). 10 November 2022. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
^Jacques Hnizdovsky Яків Гніздовський published by the Ukrainian Museum on the occasion of the exhibition Jacques Hnizdovsky 1915-1985, Retrospective Exhibition December 10, 1995 - March 3, 1996
Further readingedit
Leshko, Jaroslaw (1995). Jacques Hnizdovsky Яків Гніздовський.
Published by The Ukrainian Museum on the occasion of the exhibition Jacques Hnizdovsky 1915-1985: Retrospective Exhibition, organized by The Ukrainian Museum, New York. Profusely illustrated bilingual exhibition catalogue containing 23 pages of biographical text, showing examples of paintings, woodcuts, linocuts, etchings and ceramics by the artist.
External linksedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Jacques Hnizdovsky.
Wikiquote has quotations related to Jacques Hnizdovsky.
Jacques Hnizdovsky - Official Site
Jacques Hnizdovsky Archives
MFA Collections Database of Hnizdovsky Prints
The Jacques Hnizdovsky Collection at the University of Mount Olive
Artnet
AskArt
Interview with Yakiv (Jacques) Hnizdovsky (Яків Гніздовський) Conducted by Ulana Pawuszczak on YouTube