About the artist:

Georges Lavroff (born April 18, 1895 at Yeniseisk, Siberia, Russian Empire, - August 29, 1991 in Moscow, Soviet Union) was a Russian sculptor. In 1915 Lavroff began his studies at the Medical Faculty of the University of Tomsk. During his time here he attended painting classes of the Tomsk Artists' Society. From 1917 to 1920 he served during the October Revolution and the following Russian Civil War in the 6th Regiment of the "Partisans of Azchipov". In 1922 Lavroff settled in Moscow, where from 1923 to 1926 he was a member of the Russian Artists' Association. During this time he participated in exhibitions and monument projects (including 1925 Lenin statue in the Ukrainian Poltava). He studied at the Moscow College of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. For the dissemination and promotion of Soviet art Lavroff was sent from 1927 to 1935 to France. Here he was best known for his numerous animal statues in bronze and ceramic in the Art Deco style, but also for his statuettes with dancers and mythological figures. He worked closely with the Éditeur d'art (art publisher) Marcel Guillemard. He showed his work at the Paris salons of the Société des Artistes Indépendants (from 1928) and the Société du Salon d'Automne. In 1935 Lavroff returned to Russia, where he worked as an accredited sculptor of the Soviet government from 1940 to 1980 busts and monumental sculptures of Soviet political greats. In 1982, his work was dedicated to a solo exhibition in Moscow. Lavroff died in 1991.