Leonid Hamburger

Graphic artist, illustrator. Born in the family of Emil Hamburger (23 December 1899) in the town of Nadezhdinsk in the Urals (renamed Serov in 1939). Moved with his family to Moscow (1906). Studied at the Stroganov School of Art and Industry (1907–16). Served in the Russian Army and studied for two years at the Tiflis Academy of Arts. Travelled across Russia. Worked for publishing houses (until 1941). Deported to Kazakhstan as a German national (1941–57). Lived in Karaganda. Worked as an artist for the local mining company, planned the first permanent exhibition of the regional museum of local studies, designed for the Kazakh and Russian Theatres of Drama, taught in an art circle, drew satirical political drawings under the name of “L. Gavrilov” for the Socialist Karaganda newspaper. Moved to Severodvinsk, where he worked for the theatre. Illustrated Yury Kazakov’s Manka (published in Arkhangelsk). Moved to Kimry in Kaliningrad Region at the invitation of the Russian Theatre of Drama (1958). Designed the sets for productions of A. J. Cronin’s Hatter’s Castle, Andrei Uspensky’s A Girl with Freckles, Nikolai Pogodin’s The Third Pathétique, Pedro Calderón de la Barca’s No hay burlas con el amor and Alexander Ostrovsky’s The Thunderstorm. Moved to Moscow (1975). Illustrated children’s books for various publishing houses. Died (16 November 1984).