EUGENE KLIMOFF 'S BIOGRAPHY

Born in Mitau, Latvia on 8th of may 1901, he studied at the academy of fine arts in Riga, where he specialized in the History of Russian Art and graduated with his Master of Arts degree in 1929. He took further study in Paris, Moscow, Italy and Austria. In 1933 he became Secretary of the Arts Society "Akropolis" in Riga. an office he held until 1940.
In 1941 he was appointed Chief of the Russian Section,Arts Museum in Riga and later his Vice-director. During this period he painted and sketched a lot. He was also restorer of Russian ikons at the Kondorov Institute in Prague in 1944-1945.
He published a lot of albums of lithographs between 1928 and 1955. He emigrated in 1949 with his wife and his 2 sons to Canada. Solo exhibits of his paintings took place in Quebec and in Ottawa,Ont.
His work revealed him to be a naturalist and portraitist before all, but we can say that his paintings of the Holy Land are full of mysticism and luminous qualities.
In 1967, Eugene Klimoff gave lectures at Carleton University in Ottawa on Russian religious painting in the XIX th century.
He was held teaching positions in the field of Russian literature, history
and art at a number of North American universities.
He is represented in the Museum collections at Riga, Moscow, St-Petersburg, Quebec and in private collections in France, England, Israel, Canada, Russia, USA.
Eugene Klimoff was the russian teacher of Alexandre Soljenitsine s' son when
he lived with his family in Vermont (USA).
He died in Quebec in a car accident on the 29th of december 1990. He is buried in Toronto, Ont.