Stepan Usyk

• Name — Stepan Usyk • Native Name — Степан Григорович Усик • Born — 16 June 1925 • Birthplace — Studenyky, Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine • Died — September 11, 2001 • Place of death — Uzhhorod, Ukraine • Field — Painting • Training — Kyiv Higher School of Applied Arts, Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, Kyiv Art School • Works — Kobzar, Bread and Salt, Portrait of Father, Carpathian Winter, Fir House

Usyk was born on June 16, 1925, in Studenyky, Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine. He studied at the Kyiv Higher School of Applied Arts and the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, later receiving his art education at the Kyiv Art School. During World War II, Usyk was sent to Nazi Germany to perform forced labour. He was later imprisoned by the Soviet Union in 1954 for 5 years for "anti-Soviet agitation and Ukrainian bourgeois nationalism". After his release, he graduated from the painting department of the Uzhhorod School of Applied Arts, where he defended his diploma work Shevchenko-Kobzar. Usky died on September 11, 2001, in Uzhhorod.

Usyk's works are focused on Ukraine, Carpathian landscapes, wooden churches, still lifes, and portraits. He painted the Church of the Intercession in Kostryno. He participated in the reconstruction of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra and in the restoration of the St. Sophia Cathedral of Kyiv, restoring 15 kg of gold leaf on the cathedral dome. Transcarpathian painters Yosyp Bokshay and Stepan Sigetiy had an important influence on Usyk's works. His paintings are displayed museums and private collections in Ukraine, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the United States of America, and other countries.