The museum “Literary Dnieper” launched an exhibition entitled “The Ukrainian Soil,” dedicated to Mykola Pohribniak, artist and teacher (1885-1965).
As a student of art-industrial school, he became interested in illustrative graphics and participated in the design of Hornet, a Ukrainian satirical magazine published in Kyiv. After graduating with the title of educated draftsman, Pohribniak was appointed as a teacher of graphic arts in Katerynoslav [now Dnipropetrovsk. – Ed.], and he continued to work in the city’s different schools till the end of his life. He was a teacher of a famous Ukrainian artist Halyna Mazepa (1910-95). His character harmoniously combined features of a cheerful painter, thoughtful graphic artist, teacher and mentor of youth.
Mykola Pohribniak was at the forefront of Ukrainian books printing in Katerynoslav, having had illustrated and designed almost all publications by Prosvita writers (it is known of more than 50 of them). The master was a bright figure in the Ukrainian Renaissance – the generation of artists, almost all of whom were killed in the times of the totalitarian regime.
Illustration from the website GOROD.DP.UA
Pohribniak worked in different spheres – in monumental and easel painting, book design, arts and crafts. As a graphic artist, he has done much for the development of Ukrainian children’s books. From 1916 to 1925, he illustrated Kobzar by Taras Shevchenko, Ivan Franko’s tales, and various works by Olena Pchilka, Dmytro Yavornytsky, and Adrian Kashchenko. His books were created in an ancient tradition of Ukrainian book printing, being a kind of contemporary masterpieces.
In the post-war years, Pohribniak had also worked and taught fruitfully. After he had died and been buried in Dnepropetrovsk, a monument was erected on his grave.
By the 130th birth anniversary of the artist, the “Literary Dnieper” museum published a catalog of graphics by Mykola Pohribniak. This is the first attempt in bibliographic description of Ukrainian books and periodicals, artistically designed and illustrated by him. At the moment, a fundraising campaign is being run in order to install a memorial plaque at the location of the “Literary Dnieper” museum, where the artist had worked in 1910s-1920s.
