Eastman Johnson | Co-founder of the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Eastman Johnson [1824-1906] was an American painter and Co-Founder of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, with his name inscribed at its entrance. Best known for his Genre paintings, paintings of scenes from everyday life, and his portraits both of everyday people, he also painted portraits of prominent Americans such as Abraham Lincoln, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. His later works often show the influence of the 17th-century Dutch masters whom he studied while living in The Hague, and he was even known as The American Rembrandt in his day.

Jacques Van Den Abeele, 1960 ~ Figurative sculptor

Jacques Van den Abeele, Belgian sculptor, is exhibited in galleries spread over Belgium, France, The Netherlands, Switzerland and the United States of America. He realized also monumental sculptures for state orders.
For Jacques Van den Abeele, art is above all a quest for the essential foundations of existence, moving towards what lies behind appearances: feelings, emotions, fears. His sculptures thus allow us to see the fragility and the transcience of life, like the ephemeral sound of a note of music which, barely perceived, already fades and disappears. The artist works directly in wax and from this the statue is cast following the”lost wax” principle which makes each item a totally unique piece. He himself does the surface finishing and creates the patina on his works and wild expectations. If it so happens – only in a few cases –that a man is present, they engage in a game of cards during which the lady will invariably draw an ace of hearts which she meaningfully pushes under the man’s nose. This might be called a form of seduction.

Sabin Balasa (1932-2008) | Symbolist painter

Romanian painter Sabin Bălaşa was born in the village of Dobriceni, Olt county. He graduated from the Fine Arts Institute in 1955. He is a member of many international Academies of Art and winner of a great number of prizes for painting and cartoons.

He naturally started from the traditions of the Romanian art, which he assimilated in a creative way, and studied with interest and fervour the history and mythology of the Romanian people, pledging himself to conjure up a fascinating universe of great expressive power, conveying to the onlooker an impression or a rare strength.

Whether he paints such heroes of the national pantheon as Decebalus, Stephen the Great, Balcescu or Eminescu, evokes characters of legend, epic or ballad or creates images living beyond time and space, Sabin Balasa constantly remains faithful to the most generous and noble human ideals.

Elena Bond, 1965 | City Reflections

Russian painter Елена Бонд⏭ was born in Russia in the beautiful old city of Samara to a military doctor and a classical pianist. Elena started drawing at a very early age, using everything from a pencil to her mother's make-up. She came from a family of artists where her great-grandfather and grandfather were both artists.
Because of her father's job in the military, Elena's family had to move around the Soviet Union frequently. She'd lived in Kazakhstan, Byelorussia, Ukraine, Latvia, Litva, St.Petersburg and Moscow. The largest part of her childhood was spent in Germany. Because of the frequent lifestyle changes, Elena was able to preserve memories of many different cultures and experiences. At the age of 11, she attended her first art school in St.Petersburg, Russia.

Olga Oreshnikova, 1962

Russian painter Ольга Орешникова was born in St Petersburg, a member of one of the most prominent families of artists. Her paternal grandfather, Professor Oreshnikov, was Rector of the Academy of Fine Arts in St Petersburg from 1953-1978. He was also one of the leading artistic figures in the city and a member of the Soviet Academy. Olga’s maternal grandfather was Roman Kotlarevsky, a renowned composer and professor of composition at the Conservatory of Music. Her parents and close relatives are all either painters, art historians or practising musicians.

Carmen Alberti-Nothelfer, 1968 | Figurative painter

Spanish painter Carmen Alberti-Nothelfer was born in Barcelona.

From 1990-1995 Studied painting at the academy of fine arts in Vienna, Austria.

The artist lives and works in Germany, Austria and Spain.

Joan Beltràn Bofill | Impressionist Figurative painter

Spanish painter Joan Beltrán Bofill (1939-2009) was born in Barcelona.

Joan attended the prestigious Casa Lonja, where several artists from the Catalan School, including Picasso, had also studied.

It was here that Joan studied drawing, painting, composition and theory of colour.

Joan also studied at the Sant Jordi Fine Art School in Barcelona.

Georgi Matevosjan, 1948 | Surrealist painter

Armenian painter Георгий Матевосян was born in Baku, the son of the USSR State Prize laureate writer Hrant Matevosyan.

In 1975 he graduated from the Volgograd Institute specializing in architecture.

Worked as an architect, designer, studied jewelry making and small plastics.

As a student, he did not part with a notebook, constantly sketching portraits of his friends.

Today, the work of the Armenian painter are in museums and private collections in Russia, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Sweden, Italy, France, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Canada, America and Japan.