Butovych, Mykola

Mykola Butovych is a major painter and graphic artist of the modernist period and a leading representative of the Ukrainian national modernist style, as it developed in the first half of the twentieth century. Born in the Poltava region of Ukraine, Butovych left the Soviet-ruled part of Ukraine for the West in the early 1920s. He studied art in Prague, Berlin, and at the Leipzig Academy of Graphic Art, and worked in Lviv before moving to the United States in 1947.

Butovych’s paintings are based on themes from the Ukrainian history, folk tales, and myths, which he often treats in a playful or ironic manner. His style blends personal fantasy with expressionist and constructivist elements. In addition to painting, Butovych has also been admired for his woodcuts, graphic design, and book illustrations.

Butovych died in 1961 in Hackensack, New Jersey. The artist exhibited internationally, particularly in Lviv, Paris, Rome, Brussels, and the United States. His works are held in many private and public collections.