Halyna Mazepa-Koval

Halyna lived in Ukraine until 1923 — her father was prime minister of the Ukrainian People’s Republic — after which the family had to leave to avoid repression. She became famous in the 1930s with a style organically national yet absorbing the experience of world art; her works were exhibited in Lviv, Rome, Berlin and Prague, and she illustrated children’s books.

In 1945 her two sons and her mother died in Prague, and in 1947 she emigrated to Venezuela, where her talent fully flourished in paintings deeply connected to Ukraine. She worked at the Bolívar Film studio and won several honours, including a UNESCO award for children’s book illustration.