Dovhal, Oleksander

Dovhal, Oleksander [Довгаль, Олександер; Dovhal'], b 27 January 1904 in Debaltseve, Katerynoslav gubernia, d 12 March 1961 in Kharkiv. Graphic artist. Dovhal graduated from the Kharkiv Art Institute in 1929 and belonged to Mykhailo Boichuk’s school. His work evolved from Boichukism to a synthesis of Boichukism with elements of Western expressionism. He was a member of the Association of Revolutionary Art of Ukraine. From the late 1930s Dovhal worked within the official Soviet socialist-realist guidelines on art. Among his works are line engravings such as Estacade (1923), The Weeder Woman (1926), and Sharing Rations (1927); series of prints such as Socialist Kharkiv (1937) and The Classical Figures of World Culture (1939–60); a cycle of watercolors, Along the Roads of War (1942–4); and illustrations for the works of Ivan Kotliarevsky, Marko Vovchok, Pavlo Tychyna, Leonid Pervomaisky, Ivan Kocherha, and Petro Kozlaniuk.

[This article originally appeared in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine, vol. 1 (1984).]