Funev, Ivan

Born July 24, 1900, in Gorna-Beshovitsa, Brachansk District. Bulgarian sculptor. People’s Artist of Bulgaria (1961). Member of the Communist Party of Bulgaria since 1944 (affiliated with the party since the 1920’s).

Funev graduated from the Academy of Arts in Sofia in 1930. He was one of the founders of the Fellowship of New Artists (1931). Funev’s chief works of the 1930’s are about the life and struggle of the proletariat; they often make use of iron-reinforced concrete to emphasize the austere romanticism of the images. After 1944, Funev did a number of monuments, including one in honor of the Soviet Army (in collaboration with another sculptor; Sofia). Funev was awarded the Dimitrov Prize in 1950.