Madonna by Ivan Olinsky Russian, American, 1878 - 1962 oil on canvas, 1931 Gift of National Academy of Design Henry W. Ranger Fund, 0.356 Born in the Ukraine, Ivan Gregorwitch Olinsky (1878-1962) was a talented portraitist, able to capture vibrant and emotional human characteristics on canvas. Olinsky displayed remarkable artistic ability when he was very young. At the age of ten, he was invited to study at the university in Elizabethgrad, where he worked with students twice his age. In 1890, his family moved to New York, and four years later, at age 16, he enrolled in the National Academy of Design. In 1900, he was given an opportunity to work for the famous John La Farge, a renowned painter and stained glass artist. He worked for La Farge for eight years before he decided to work independently and establish his own studio.

---