Zair Azgur
Born Jewish in Vitebsk, Belorussia, 1908 .In 1925, studied at All-Russianart technical institute, Leningrad -- then in Kiev -- then in Tbilisi..
Returned to Minsk -- specialized in portraits, war heros, depictions of Lenin - monuments made in Astrakhan, Mackhachkala, Kashino, Podolsk, Guriev, Leninogorsk, Grodno.
Also served as Belorussian deputy to the Supreme Soviet.
Near the end of his career, a home/studio was built for him in Minsk, which now serves as a museum of his works.
Museum-Studio of Zair Azgur.
4 Azgura St., Minsk 220100 Tel.+017 367301
The branch was founded on 04.01.1996 under Decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus "On Perpetuation of the Memory of the People’s Artist of the USSR, Hero of Socialist Labour Azgur, Zair Issakovich". The exposition was opened to the public in March 2000.
The Museum is located in the premises of the Studio of Zair Azgur (1908-1995), an outstanding Soviet sculptor, Academician of the Arts Academy of the USSR, laureate of multiple state prizes and honourable titles, specially built for him in 1979.
The total area of the three-storied building makes 1074 m2, the exposition area – 303 m2. The memorial section of the exposition includes photos, archive documents, rewards of the famous sculptor, portraits of his relatives and parents, works of Zair Azgur’s wife – artist Galina Azgur. The premises of the Studio, the shaper’s room, etc. house a great number (over 500) of works of Zair Azgur – sculpture portraits of Soviet leaders (Vladimir Lenin, Iossif Stalin and others), figures of Belarusian (Yakub Kolas, Tsyotka) and world culture, heroes of labour and war, and also author’s models and plaster casts of various famous monuments, created by Zair Azgur for many cities of the former USSR.
The Museum conducts excursions, children’s training in fundamentals of sculpture and modelling, gives lectures on history of the world and Belarusian sculpture.
The exposition of the Museum will especially interest those visitors who want to get a vivid presentation about the arts of social realism, about peculiarities of creative work of the sculptor and about the process of sculptor’s work. It also allows to have an unexpected view of the history of the 20th century and of the history of the Soviet Union.
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