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Igor Valerievich Babailov (born February 9, 1965) is a Russian-born American portrait painter, known for his officially commissioned portraits of global leaders, celebrities and distinguished individuals in both Europe and North America. His notable commissions include Pope Benedict XVI (Vatican), President of Russia Vladimir Putin (Kremlin), United States Supreme Court Justice Joseph P. Sullivan (The Appellate Division, Supreme Court of New York), Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney (House of Commons) and Mayor Rudolph Giuliani of New York (Giuliani Partners). Recent notable portraits also include George Washington for the historic collection of the Mount Vernon Museum in Virginia; official portrait of General David H. Petraeus, Commander of the United States Central Command, for West Point Academy and Templeton Prize recipient Michael Novak of the American Enterprise Institute. . BACKGROUND and ACADEMIA Igor Babailov began his formal art education at the age of nine. Studying with leading Masters of painting and drawing, he graduated from the Surikov Academy of Fine Arts in Moscow, founded by the fathers of the Moscow school of painting famous Russian artists Valentin Serov, Konstantin Korovin and Abram Arkhipov.
Mr. Babailov is an elected member of the National Arts Club in New York City and Honorary Member of the Drawing Society of Canada. Scholar and advocate for the traditional values in Visual art he outlines a special emphasis on the importance of drawing from life as foundation of strong painting, and teaches and gives life portrait demonstrations in art colleges, art societies and private clubs. He is a public Speaker, represented by Harry Walker Agency. According to the Agency, in his demonstrations “…you witness “the truth of the soul” coming alive in front of your eyes…”
Recognized as one of the top contemporary portrait artists, Igor Babailov has been featured in shows and publications, such as: New York Family Magazine, Regis and Kelly Show, The Robb Report, The Artist’s Magazine, The International Artist, Classical Realism Journal, The New York Daily News, the Vatican’s ZENIT, The Moscow Times, Swiss magazine Le Temps , and is the subject of two books. In 2009 the International Academy of Culture and Art awarded Babailov a prestigious public Order “For Service to Art” (The Golden Star).
SELECTED AWARDS AND HONORS 1989 First Prize Winner – Annual Graphic Works Competition, Surikov Academy of Fine Arts, Moscow, Russia 1993 Award “For Outstanding Achievement in Portrait Painting” – National Portrait
Seminar and the American Artist Magazine
1994 Grand Prize Winner – American Society of Portrait Artists International Competition 1997 The Merit Award – “Realism '97 International Art Competition, Parkersburg, WV 1999 Honorable Mention – Portrait Competition, The Artists Magazine, U.S.A 2001 Honorable Mention – Portrait Competition, International Artist Magazine, Australia 2002 Honored with the title "Living Master" by the Art Renewal Center (ARC) 2004 The painting "For Gold, God and Glory" is permanently included in the Peruvian Encyclopedia, Empresa Editora Il Comercio,S.A 2006 Honored by the Vatican with the special sitting with Pope Benedict XVI for the Papal Portrait. 2009 Awarded Order "Service to Art" ("The Golden Star")
by the International Academy of Culture and Art
. . REFERENCES
Harry Walker Agency [1] and [2]
National Review [3]
New York Social Diary [4]
AskMen [5]
The New York Daily News ”Pontiff's aura colors artist's image” Tuesday, April 15th 2008, 3:19 AM 15_pontiffs_aura_colors_artists_image.html#ixzz0bxnrdy81 The New York Daily News – Video
[6]
Art Renewal Center (Living Master) [7]
House of Commons Heritage Collection [8]
Zenit.org [9]
Brooklyn Papers, Honoring R. Giuliani [10]
Brooklyn Papers, Honoring Regis Philbin [11]
Hunger for Beauty" (MercantorNet) [http://www.mercatornet.com/articles/view/hunger_for_beauty/ ] The World of Igor Babailov by V. Zakharov, 2001 (in Russian) About the Author [12]
White House Christmas Ornaments [13]
Regis Philbin unveils his portrait on “Live with Regis and Kelly Show” Segment 1 – 6/11/03
The Artist’s Magazine “Building a Foundation in Drawing”, May, 1998
“Capturing the Life Behind the Likeness”, by Greg Schaber, April 1999.
The International Artist Magazine “Why We Must Keep the Traditions Alive”, 2000
Encyclopedia Peru Tematica del Peru, Empresa Editora Il Comercio,S.A (2004) - in Spanish
Art World News July 2007
Classical Realism Journal “Following the Academic Tradition in Russia”, Volume IV, Issue 1
The Moscow Times, April 18, 2007 [14]
The Ford Book [15]
EXTERNAL LINKS
Official Artist’s Website http://babailov.homestead.com
AskArt http://www.askart.com/AskART/artists/biography.aspx?searchtype=BIO&artist=115224
Streilein Foundation, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MA http://www.streilein-foundation.org/clear_vision/clearVision_Winter08.pdf
The Post and Courier http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2007/nov/29/arts23447/
Michael Novak’s portrait unveiling (Youtube) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdYoAgAjWvc
Regis Philbin unveils his portrait on “Live with Regis and Kelly Show” Segment 1 – 6/11/03
Le Temps http://www.letemps.ch/Page/Uuid/82a74592-e1ab-11dd-b87c-1c3fffea55dc/Portraits_de_famille
Flipkart.com http://www.flipkart.com/ford-american-dream-clifton-lambreth/1933715448-n2x3f34whc
Art Renewal Center Scholarships and Programs http://www.artrenewal.org/archive/2008_06_01_archive.php
Igor Babailov Biography http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6XEbcbm2L-8&feature=related