Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

TARAS SHEVCHENKO

Date Range From

1970

Date Range To

1980

Materials

LINEN, PLASTIC

No. Pieces

1

Length

55.8

Width

40.6

Description

NEEDLEWORK ON LINEN. ONE FRAMED PICTURE DONE IN CROSS-STITCH. PLASTIC USED INSTEAD OF GLASS TO COVER PICTURE. COLORS OF PICTURE: BLACK, GREEN, YELLOW, ORANGE, RED, BROWN, BEIGE, FLESHY PINK, BLUE, PEACH, SCARLET, GREY. DONE ON WHITE BACKGROUND. BOOK ALSO IN PICTURE WITH LETTERS EMBROIDERED ON IT "K0G 3AP".

Subjects

ART

Historical Association

DECORATIVE ARTS

ETHNOGRAPHIC

History

UKRAINIAN CANADIAN. THE HAND EMBROIDERED PORTRAIT OF T. SHEVCHENKO, A POET, WAS DONE BY MRS. BORDENIUK'S NIECE, M. BORDENIUK. SEE HISTORY ATTACHED. *UPDATE* IN 2014 COLLECTIONS ASSISTANT JANE EDMUNDSON CONDUCTED A SURVEY OF ART OBJECTS. THE FOLLOWING DETAILS ABOUT THE DONORS, NICK AND ANN BORDENIUK, AND THE ORIGIN OF THE OBJECTS INCLUDED IN THEIR 1977 DONATION WERE FOUND IN A HANDWRITTEN NOTE FROM THE DONORS IN THE PERMANENT FILE. NICK BORDENIUK WAS BORN IN CZERNIWICI, UKRAINE ON MAY 20, 1895. HE FIRST CAME TO QUEBEC IN 1913, WORKING AS A MINER AND ON VARIOUS CONSTRUCTION SITES INCLUDING THAT OF THE ST. LAWRENCE BRIDGE IN 1916. IN 1922 HE ARRIVED IN LETHBRIDGE AND WORKED AT THE NO. 6 MINE. IN 1940 HE MOVED TO FERNIE, B.C. AND WORKED IN COAL CREEK UNTIL HIS RETIREMENT IN 1958. ANN BORDENIUK WAS BORN IN LWOW, UKRAINE AND MOVED TO HILLCREST, ALBERTA IN 1936. SHE ALSO MOVED TO FERNIE AND MARRIED NICK THEIR IN 1955. IN 1976 THE BORDENIUKS MOVED FROM THEIR HOME INTO TOM UPHILL MANOR IN FERNIE, AND DONATED THEIR COLLECTION OF UKRAINIAN OBJECTS TO THE GALT MUSEUM. ALL OF THE OBJECTS WERE HANDMADE IN THE MOUNTAINOUS REGION OF KARPYTIAN IN WESTERN UKRAINE. THE EMBROIDERED PIECES WERE MADE BY ANN'S NIECE, MARUSIA BOLOTYNIUK. THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION ABOUT THE PICTURE'S SUBJECT, TARAS SHEVCHENKO, WAS EXCERPTED FROM THE WEBSITE FOR THE TARAS SHEVCHENKO MUSEUM IN TORONTO. TARAS HRYHOROVICH SHEVCHENKO, THE GREAT UKRAINIAN POET, ARTIST AND THINKER, WAS BORN ON MARCH 9, 1814, IN THE VILLAGE OF MORYNTSI IN CENTRAL UKRAINE, THEN PART OF THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE. HIS PARENTS, H. SHEVCHENKO AND K. SHEVCHENKO, WERE SERFS. TARAS'S FATHER WAS LITERATE, AND HE SENT HIS SON TO BE EDUCATED AS AN APPRENTICE TO A DEACON. IN 1823, TARAS'S MOTHER DIED, AND HIS FATHER FOLLOWED HER TWO YEARS LATER. TARAS, NOW AN ORPHAN, SERVED AS A HOUSEBOY AND WAS IN TRAINING AS A SERVANT. A TALENT FOR DRAWING SHOWED ITSELF IN THE BOY QUITE EARLY. WHEN HE WAS 14 YEARS OLD, HE BECAME A DOMESTIC SERVANT TO P. ENGELHARDT AND IN 1829 TARAS TRAVELLED WITH HIM TO VILNIUS, LITHUANIA. THERE HE STUDIED PAINTING UNDER AN EXPERIENCED CRAFTSMAN. THE POLISH REBELLION FOR NATIONAL LIBERATION FROM RUSSIA BEGAN IN NOVEMBER, 1830, AND ENGELHARDT LEFT FOR THE RUSSIAN CAPITAL, ST. PETERSBURG. SHEVCHENKO STAYED WITH THE LORD'S SERVANTS IN VILNIUS AND WAS WITNESS TO THE REVOLUTIONARY EVENTS. SHEVCHENKO WENT TO ST. PETERSBURG AT THE BEGINNING OF 1831. IN 1832, THE LORD "CONTRACTED" HIM TO THE MASTER PAINTER V. SHYRYAYEV, WITH WHOM TARAS EXPERIENCED A HARD SCHOOL OF PROFESSIONAL TRAINING. NOTED WRITERS AND ARTISTS WHO BEFRIENDED SHEVCHENKO BOUGHT HIM OUT OF SERFDOM IN 1838 BY RAISING 2,500 RUBLES. LATER THAT YEAR HE WAS ACCEPTED INTO THE ACADEMY OF ARTS, AND RECEIVED NUMEROUS AWARDS FOR HIS PAINTINGS. IN 1840 HIS FIRST BOOK OF POETRY, THE KOBZAR, WAS PUBLISHED. HE CONTINUED TO PUBLISH POEMS AND WRITE STAGE PLAYS. MUCH OF HIS SUBJECT MATTER DEALT WITH THE SOCIAL AND NATIONAL OPPRESSION OF THE UKRAINIAN PEOPLE BY RUSSIA. SHEVCHENKO’S WORK WAS OFTEN CENSORED. IN THE SPRING OF 1846, THE POET LIVED FOR SOME TIME IN KIEV, WHERE HE MET THE MEMBERS OF THE KYRYLO-METHODIUS SOCIETY. THE VIEWS OF THE POET HAD A GREAT INFLUENCE ON THE PROGRAM OF THIS SECRET SOCIETY AND ON THE PHILOSOPHICAL OUTLOOK OF MANY OF HIS CONTEMPORARIES. IN 1847, ARRESTS BEGAN OF THE MEMBERS OF THE KYRYLO-METHODIUS SOCIETY AND SHEVCHENKO WAS ARRESTED ON APRIL 5, ON A FERRY CROSSING THE DNIPRO RIVER NEAR KIEV. THE NEXT DAY, THE POET WAS SENT TO ST. PETERSBURG. HE ARRIVED THERE ON APRIL 17, 1847, AND WAS IMPRISONED. HE REPEATEDLY VIOLATED THE RUSSIAN TSAR’S BAN ON PRISONERS WRITING ABOUT THEIR EXPERIENCES. IT WAS NOT UNTIL 1857 THAT SHEVCHENKO FINALLY RETURNED FROM EXILE, THANKS TO THE EFFORTS OF FRIENDS. HE CONTINUED TO WRITE AND ADVOCATE FOR THE UKRAINIAN PEOPLE UNTIL HIS DEATH IN ST. PETERSBURG ON MARCH 10, 1861. HE IS BURIED NEXT TO THE DNIPRO RIVER ON A SITE THAT HAS BECOME A SHRINE CALLED TARAS HILL. SEE PERMANENT FILE FOR BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE ON THE DONORS. *UPDATE* IN 2021 TWO COLLECTIONS ASSISTANTS, RYLEY GELINAS AND O. E., CONDUCTED AN AUDIT OF THE ROLLED TEXTILE COLLECTION, INCLUDING THIS ARTIFACT. RESEARCH CONDUCTED INTO THE DONOR WAS UNSUCCESSFUL AND NO FURTHER INFORMATION WAS MADE AVAILABLE AS A RESULT OF THE AUDIT WORK.

Catalogue Number

P19770049000

Acquisition Date

1976-10

Collection

Museum

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