Ernst Neizvestny

Ernst Neizvestny
Ernst Neizvestny The Order of Honor from Vladimir Putin, October 2000.
Native name	Эрнст Ио́сифович Неизве́стный
Born	Ernst Iosifovich Neizvestny (1925-04-09)April 9, 1925 Sverdlovsk
Died	August 9, 2016(2016-08-09) (aged 91) New York
Nationality	Russian American
Alma mater	Art Academy of Latvia, Surikov Moscow Art Institute, Moscow State University
Known for	Sculptor, painter, graphic artist, art philosopher
Notable work	Mask of Sorrow
Style	Large monumental sculptures
Movement	Expressionism
Awards	State Prize of the Russian Federation (1996)
Elected	The Russian Academy of Arts (2004)

Ernst Iosifovich Neizvestny (Russian: Эрнст Ио́сифович Неизве́стный; April 9, 1925 – August 9, 2016) was a Russian-American sculptor, painter, graphic artist, and art philosopher. He emigrated to the U.S. in 1976 and lived and worked in New York City. His last name in Russian literally means "unknown".

American playwright Arthur Miller once described Neizvestny as an "artist of the East" who is regarded by Russians as an "expression of the country, of its soul, language, and spirit" and as a "prophet of the future" who represents the "philosophical conscience of his country."

Alexander Calder, the American artist, once said to Neizvestny, "All my life I create the world of children, and you create the world of man." [as reported by New York City Tribune, March 29, 1988.]

Neizvestny was born 9 April 1925 in Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinburg). In 1942, at the age of 17, he joined the Red Army as a volunteer. At the close of World War II, he was heavily wounded and sustained a clinical death. Although he was awarded the Order of the Red Star "posthumously" and his mother received an official notification that her son had died, Neizvestny managed to survive.

In 1947, Neizvestny was enrolled at the Art Academy of Latvia in Riga. He continued his education at the Surikov Moscow Art Institute and the Philosophy Department of the Moscow State University. His sculptures, often based on the forms of the human body, are noted for their expressionism and powerful plasticity. Although his preferred material is bronze, his larger, monumental installations are often executed in concrete. Most of his works are arranged in extensive cycles, the best known of which is The Tree of Life, a theme he has developed since 1956.