Artur Lapin

(also A. Lapiņš). Born Jan. 29 (Feb. 11), 1911, in the village of Sātu, in present-day Tukums Raion, Latvian SSR. Soviet set designer and art critic. People’s Artist of the Latvian SSR (1954); corresponding member of the Academy of Arts of the USSR (1970). Became a member of the CPSU in 1940.

Between 1929 and 1932, Lapin’ studied at the Latvian Academy of Arts in Riga under K. Miesnieks and K. Ubāns. His stage sets are noted for their clear and effective compositions and color solutions. Works by Lapin’ include the sets for Mussorgsky’s opera Boris Godunov (1949; State Prize of the USSR, 1950), Skulte’s ballet Sakta of Freedom (1950; State Prize of the USSR, 1951), Prokofiev’s opera War and Peace (1961; State Prize of the Latvian SSR, 1965), Dzerzhinskii’s opera Man’s Fate (1962; State Prize of the Latvian SSR, 1965), and Shostakovich’s Katerina Izmailova (1963; State Prize of the Latvian SSR, 1965). All of these sets were designed for the Academic Theater of Opera and Ballet of the Latvian SSR in Riga. Lapin’ has been awarded the Order of Lenin, the Order of the October Revolution, the Order of the Red Star, and a medal.