André Lanskoy

André Lanskoy was born in 1902, under the name Andrei Michailovich Lanskoy, the son of Count Lanskoy. In 1919 the artist fled the Russian revolution, going to Kiev. After a spell in Crimea, André Lanskoy arrived in Paris in 1921, where he remained for the rest of his life.

The artist began to study painting at the "Académie de la Grande Chaumière", where he made works inspired by Van Gogh, Matisse and Soutine. In 1923, having qualified for the "Salon d'Automne", he was discovered by Wilhelm Uhde, who helped him with his first solo exhibition in 1925. During this time, Lanskoy exhibited his work with Robert and Sonia Delaunay, Leopold Survage, Ossip Zadkine and other Russian artists in Paris.

During the 1930s the artist slowly gave up figurative painting, turning entirely to non-representational painting. In his continuous search for new means of expression, he took up book illustration, tapestries, mosaics and collages.

Lanskoy stands as one of the most important exponents of "lyrical abstraction" within the "École de Paris" and has been honoured with countless exhibitions. André Lanskoy died on 22 August 1976 in Paris.