Motovilov, Georgii Ivanovich

Born June 16 (28), 1884, in Kostroma; died June 14,1963, in Moscow. Soviet sculptor.

From 1918 to 1921, Motovilov studied under S. T. Konenkov in Moscow at the Free Art Studios, which subsequently became part of Vkhutemas (State Higher Art and Technical Studios). In 1925 he became a member of the Association of Artists of Revolutionary Russia. From 1945 to 1963 he taught at the Moscow Higher School of Industrial Arts; he was made a professor there in 1953.

Motovilov’s works, which consist primarily of monumental decorative sculptures, combine genre themes with ornamental plastic solutions. His works include The Metallurgist (bronze, 1936, Tret’iakov Gallery, Moscow); the reliefs on the arch of the former main entrance to the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition (stone, 1939); the sculptural ornament of the Moscow Elektrozavodskaia (1942–44), Oktiabr’skaia (1950), and Smolenskaia (1953) subway stations; and the monument to A. N. Tolstoy in Moscow (bronze, unveiled in 1957). A recipient of the State Prize of the USSR in 1950, Motovilov was also awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor and various medals.