Material Type

Artifact

Other Name

MINIATURE BUST "T. SHEVCHENKO"

Date Range From

1960

Date Range To

1970

Materials

PLASTIC, WOOD

No. Pieces

1

Height

13.3

Width

9.3

Description

"T. SHEVCHENKO" EMBOSSED ON THE BASE OF THE BUST IS CRYRILLIC. BUST IS WHITE PLASTIC. "1814" "1816" INKED ON FRONT OF BASE. "TKXX" EMBOSSED ON BACK OF BUST. PLASTIC ON PLYWOOD BASE.

Subjects

ART

Historical Association

DECORATIVE ARTS

ETHNOGRAPHIC

History

UKRAINIAN CANADIAN CULTURAL HERITAGE. THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION ABOUT THE BUST'S SUBJECT, TARAS SHEVCHENKO, WAS FOUND ON 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. *UPDATE* IN 2015 COLLECTIONS ASSISTANT JANE EDMUNDSON CONDUCTED A SURVEY OF MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS, INCLUDING THREE DONATED BY THE UKRAINIAN ASSOCIATION OF LETHBRIDGE. THOUGH THE ASSOCIATION HAS DISBANDED, SHE WAS ABLE TO DETERMINE THAT IT IS LIKELY THAT THIS OBJECT AND 81 OTHERS DONATED BY THE ASSOCIATION IN 1973 WERE ORIGINALLY PART OF THE GALT MUSEUM'S 'UKRAINIAN ROOM' EXHIBIT. ACCORDING TO LETHBRIDGE HERALD ARTICLES FROM 1969 AND 1976, AND PHOTOGRAPHS IN THE GALT ARCHIVES (199110764419, 1991107612370, 199110764421, AND 199110764422) THE UKRAINIAN ROOM WAS INSTALLED IN 1966, WHEN THE MUSEUM WAS MOVED FROM THE BOWMAN CENTRE TO THE GALT HOSPITAL BUILDING. THE ROOM WAS FURNISHED WITH OBJECTS DONATED BY THE UKRAINIAN ASSOCIATION, AND THE GROUP HELD ANNUAL TEAS THERE. THOUGH THE CATALOGUE NUMBERS OF THE UKRAINIAN ASSOCIATION DONATION REFLECT A 1973 DONATION DATE, THE INITIAL ACQUISITION YEAR LISTED IN HARDCOPY FILES IS 1966, WHICH ALIGNS WITH THE OPENING DATE OF THE UKRAINIAN ROOM. IN ADDITION, ARCHIVAL PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE ROOM DEPICT OBJECTS THAT ARE NOW HELD IN COLLECTIONS (P19738277001-GA, P19738277002-GA, AND P19738277003-GA CAN BE CLEARLY IDENTIFIED, WITH OTHER OBJECTS IDENTIFIED SPECULATIVELY). IN 1984 THE MUSEUM DISMANTLED ALL ITS DISPLAYS IN PREPARATION FOR THE BUILDING'S RENOVATION AND EXPANSION, AND ACCORDING TO BRAD BROWN, GALT EXHIBIT DESIGNER, WHEN THE FACILITY REOPENED TO THE PUBLIC IN 1985 ALL THE EXHIBITS HAD BEEN REWORKED, AND THE UKRAINIAN ROOM NO LONGER EXISTED. SEE PERMANENT FILE P19738197000 FOR HARDCOPIES OF NEWSPAPER ARTICLES.

Catalogue Number

P19738257000

Acquisition Date

1973-04

Collection

Museum

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