Maria Prymachenko

Ukrainian folk artist whose visionary paintings became global symbols of peace

Maria Prymachenko (1909-1997), a self-taught painter from Bolotnia, Ukraine, transformed folk art into a universal language. Her vibrant mythological beasts and floral patterns, drawn from Polissian folklore, earned UNESCO's 1966 Picasso Gold Medal. Despite living through Holodomor and WWII, her works radiate joyous defiance.

Prymachenko's 1936 Kyiv exhibition revolutionized Soviet art, blending traditional petrykivka motifs with surrealism. Her ‘A Dove Has Spread Her Wings and Asks for Peace’ (1982) became Ukraine's international peace emblem. In 2022, Russians burned 25 originals in Ivankiv Museum, unintentionally making her a resistance icon.

From a peasant home to UNESCO stamps, Prymachenko proved that local imagination can achieve global resonance. Major retrospectives in Paris (2023) and New York continue her legacy, cementing folk art's place in high culture discourse.