Alexander Bogdanov was born March 24, 1908 in Kiev. His father died in 1915 and his mother followed in 1921 leaving the young boy to suffer the hardships of the pre-war period in a children’s home. In 1924-1925 Bogdanov was a pupil at an art school in a small town of Mstyore. In 1926 the future painter entered the Moscow Art-Technical Institute and studied art there under K. Istomin, I. Mashkov, A. Osmerkin, S. Gerasimov, and P. Konchalovsky. Following the advice of M.V. Nesterov, Bogdanov studied the techniques of Rembrandt, Rubens, Velasguez, Titian, Serov and other masters very thoroughly. He graduated from the Institute in 1930. After graduation, Bogdanov immersed himself in his work. The result was an outpouring of creative activity: a series of pictures about the construction of a ball-bearing plant, portraits of his contemporaries and famous sportsmen, subject pictures of the War period, landscapes, still-lifes, drawings, sketches, and studies. His works of this period were full of innovation. The power of the painter’s gift found in realization in the dynamics of composition structures, vigorous painting, new forms and methods of self-expression. Later on, the painter deepened his understanding of painting, trying to express in portraits both the still even temper and the strictness so typical of classical realistic painting. During W.W.II, Bogdanov served at the front but managed to make many subject pictures, depicting the stern everyday life of the War period. His front-line sketches and drawings comprised the basis for his future pictures devoted to the events of the War. In the creative legacy of the early post-war period, Bogdanov made many landscapes, still-lifes, and portraits of family members. His high level of mastery of composition and color scheme helped to reveal the inner essence of the model, be it the inimitable charm of Russian nature or the imcomprehensiveness of a human soul. Bogdanov was a constant participant in numerous art exhibitions at home and abroad. His pictures were on display at a pre-Olympic Games art exhibition in the United States from 1979-1980. His works are now in the Perm State Art Gallery, the Vologda Regional Picture Gallery, the Sochi Exhibition Hall, as well as in Romania and Hungary. The artist died in Moscow in 1989.