November 9 Marks 100th Birth Anniversary of Artist Georgi Baev

Yoana Vodenicharova

Artist Georgi Baev in his studio in Burgas, Nov. 16, 1977 (BTA Photo/Violeta Popova)

Sofia,

09.11.2024 17:34

(BTA)

Bulgarian artist Georgi Baev was born on November 9, 1924, in the Black Sea city of Burgas. He graduated in 1950 with a degree in painting from the Academy of Arts in Sofia, where he studied under Acad. Ilia Petrov and Prof. Dechko Uzunov.

Until 1960, Baev worked primarily in graphic and stage design at the puppet theatre in his hometown. From 1962 to 1968, he also served as an art teacher in Burgas.

His first solo exhibitions were held in 1964 – in Sofia in February and in Burgas in May. These marked the beginning of numerous exhibitions both in Bulgaria and abroad, with shows in London, Budapest, Havana, Moscow, Vienna, Linz, Nicosia, Limassol, and Dordrecht, among others.

Baev’s works are featured in nearly all major Bulgarian galleries, as well as in the collections of the State Hermitage Museum, the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, and the Chicago Museum. His artworks can also be found in private collections across London, Paris, Zurich, Hamburg, Vienna, Tokyo, New York, and Philadelphia, to name but a few.

Throughout his career, Baev received numerous awards for his artistic achievements in Bulgaria and abroad. In 1957, he won a prize at the Sixth World Youth Festival in Moscow, and in 1986, he was honoured with the Herder Prize at the University of Vienna.

An honorary member of the Austrian Artists' Association Kunstlerhaus and Japan’s Nikakai association, Baev became one of just five Bulgarian artists to be included in Macmillan’s 34-volume Dictionary of Art during his lifetime.

In addition to his artistic achievements, Baev was known for his charitable work. He made donations to schools, nursing homes, and charitable foundations, supporting causes such as the 1300th anniversary of Bulgaria and relief efforts for earthquake victims in Banja Luka, Skopje, and Strazhitsa, as well as children in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Romania.

Baev passed away on February 18, 2007, in Burgas.

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