Viktoras Vizgirda, Višakio Rūda

Viktoras Vizgirda (1904-1993)
Višakio Rūda
1977, pop., pastel, charcoal, 27 × 34,5
Sign. AK: V. Vizgirda 77

Viktoras Vizgirda (1904-1993) painter, pedagogue, stage designer, organiser of art life, book illustrator, critic. He mainly painted landscapes, still lifes, portraits, self-portraits, figure compositions, and stained glass. His work is characterised by masterful painting, lyricism, nuances of mood, expression, expressive, rich colours.

Vizgirda took part in the founding of the Ars painters' group and participated in their exhibitions. In 1938 - Chairman of the Lithuanian Artists' Union. In 1940-1941, he moved to Vilnius, and in 1941-1943 he was the director of the Vilnius Academy of Arts.
He left Lithuania in 1944 and lectured on painting at the Freiburg School of Applied Arts from 1946-1949. In 1950 he settled in Boston, USA. In 1966, his solo exhibition opened at the Lithuanian Art Museum - the first Lithuanian diaspora exhibition in Soviet Lithuania. He died on 10 July 1993 in Cape Cod, USA, and was buried in Vilnius. His works are in the possession of the Lithuanian National Museum of Art, the National Museum of Art of M. K. Čiurlionis, the Alka Museum in Telšiai, the Dawn Museum in Šiauliai, foreign museums and private collections.(Prepared according to L: V. Liutkus Viktoras Vizgirda Vilnius 2000.)

"Vizgirda is the most subtle painter of our generation, unsurpassed for the breadth and richness of his lyrical feeling [...]". Gudaitis. From I. Korsakaitė, I. Kostkevičiūtė et al. "History of Lithuanian Art of the 20th Century II (1900 - 1940), Vilnius: Vaga, 1983; p. 105).