Wandering through the museums and galleries’ halls, Belarusians often come across objects and artworks that, in one way or another, are connected to Belarus. However, museum descriptions frequently omit any reference to this connection.
Soutine – “Russian,” Chagall – “born in Russia”: these are common labels on museum plaques.
We cherish Belarusian heritage and want the world to know that these artists originate from Belarus. Their names should be associated with Belarus – if not primarily, then at least as part of their identity.
Marc Chagall is a Belarusian artist! And together, we can help the world understand this.
In the photo – the label for the painting “Lovers”, spotted by one of our readers at LACMA in Los Angeles. “Born in Russia” – as if it were a sentence. The description states: “fairy-tale details of a Russian city through the window of a room in Vitebsk.” This wording replicates the text used by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, which owns the painting.
Here, you can find an art historian’s argument explaining why Marc Chagall is a Belarusian artist:
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Open in new tab You can also download a letter template to send a request – individually, as a group, or through the diaspora – asking the museum to revise the mistaken label for this or any other artwork:
Nadia Khodasevich-Léger – a French artist of Belarusian origin. Let’s emphasize her Belarusian heritage!
You may come across descriptions referring to her as a French and Russian artist – but this is inaccurate. Some sources list her place of birth as Russia, which is exactly what we encourage you to challenge and correct.
Nadia was born and spent the first 14 years of her life in a Belarusian peasant family in Asetsishchy (now part of the Vitsebsk region). Throughout her life, she maintained strong ties with Belarus.
“It is logical and correct to refer to her as a French artist of Belarusian origin, whose artistic and social activities influenced the development of Belarusian art culture and, indirectly, that of interwar Poland,” art historians state.
We invite Belarusians around the world, diaspora communities, and organizations to use our argumentation and letter template to contact international institutions, requesting that Nadia Khodasevich-Léger’s works and origins be correctly labeled:
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Jan Chrucki is a Belarusian artist, both by origin and by place of birth.
Jan Chrucki spent almost his entire life in his estate Zakharichy, located in his native Polatsk region.
Here, you can read an art historian’s argument explaining why Chrucky’s Belarusian identity is undeniable. And here, you can find a letter template to send to institutions where you have noticed incorrect labeling of his works:
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Ferdynand Ruszczyc is often referred to as a solely Polish artist, but we, Belarusians, must challenge this!
It is more accurate to call Ruszczyc a Belarusian artist connected to the artistic traditions of Poland, Lithuania, and Russia. Let’s work together to ensure the world recognizes his true heritage!
Ferdynand Ruszczyc was born on his family estate in Bahdanau (Bogdanów), next to Valozhyn, spent his childhood and youth in Minsk, and depicted Belarusian landscapes, daily life, and traditions in his paintings. A significant part of his biography and artistic legacy is tied to Belarus.
While Ruszczyc indeed embraced Polish cultural traditions, his self-identification was more complex. According to his daughter, Janina, he considered himself “tutejszy” (a local) and emphasized his Belarusian roots.
Here, we present expert arguments explaining why Ruszczyc is a Belarusian artist. Here, you can find a letter template to send to exhibition venues where his works have been incorrectly labeled:
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Chaim Soutine, the author of the iconic Eva, the symbol of the Belarusian 2020 protests.
“Russian” – this label often appears next to our fellow countryman’s paintings in foreign museums. However, art historians agree that Soutine should rightfully be recognized as both a French and Belarusian artist.
Chaim Soutine was born in Belarus, where generations of his ancestors lived. He loved this land, often spoke about it, received his first artistic education here, and only left the country as an adult. His hometown Smilavichy hosts a museum exhibition dedicated to him, and three of his paintings (including Eva) are listed in Belarus’s official registry of historical and cultural heritage.
Read here why Chaim Soutine should also be recognized as a Belarusian artist. Find a letter template here to send to institutions where you have noticed incorrect labeling of his works or birthplace.
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“Sluck”, “Sluciae”, “Mefecit Slutiae” – these markings were used on Slutsk belts, a popular element of noble attire in the second half of the 18th century, produced in the territory of Belarus.
Initially, they were called “Persian” belts, and their place of production was referred to as a “Persiarnia”. By the second half of the 18th century, the distinct style of the “Slutsk belt” had fully developed, with local Belarusian floral motifs completely replacing Persian ornamentation.
Belts produced in Slutsk had a significant influence on the stylistic design of similar belts in other cities of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Europe. This impact led to the widespread use of the term “Slutsk belts” as a general designation for this type of belt, regardless of the place of production.
Today, only a few original Slutsk belts and fragments are preserved in Belarus, while the majority are housed in museums and private collections around the world.
Here is the full argumentation on the origins of these artifacts. Here is a letter template that can be sent to museums:
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Ossip Zadkine was a sculptor, but he also created paintings and lithographs. He was Yudel Penn’s disciple and Chagall’s friend.
Ossip Zadkine was born on January 28, 1888, as Yosel Aronovich Zadkine in Vitsebsk, Belarus, which was then part of the Russian Empire. He trained as a turner and carpenter, skills that later influenced his artistic work, and began his formal art education in the workshop of Yehuda Pen.
At the age of 15, his father sent him to Sunderland, Scotland. Later, he moved to London and eventually settled in Paris, where he joined the Cubist movement before developing his own artistic style. Until 1911, Zadkine continued visiting Vitsebsk, but later, he obtained French citizenship, lived in Paris, and taught sculpture.
Importantly, he never set foot in what is now Russia.
Art historians agree that Zadkine should rightfully be recognized as both a French and Belarusian artist.
Here is the argumentation regarding the sculptor’s origins. Here, you can find a letter template to send to institutions where you have noticed incorrect labeling of Zadkine’s works:
Peter Blume – a renowned American artist and sculptor of Belarusian origin.
Blume was born in Smarhon into a Jewish family that emigrated to New York when he was six years old. The impressions of his early childhood were reflected in some of his works.
After finishing school, he studied art at the Educational Alliance and the Beaux-Arts Institute of Design. He established his own studio in New York and spent a year working in Italy. In 1948, he became a member of the National Academy of Design. He also worked at the U.S. Department of the Treasury and created several sculptural works.
Peter Blume’s Belarusian heritage requires further study, as does the influence of his early years in his homeland on his artistic work. However, it remains a fact that he was born into a Jewish family from the region and spent his childhood in Belarus.
Here is the argumentation regarding his origins. Here, you can find a letter template to send to institutions where you have noticed incorrect labeling of his works:
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Abraham Jacob Bogdanove – an American monumental artist, painter, and designer of Belarusian origin.
He was born in Minsk in September 1888. The first 12 years of his life were spent in Belarus, where Abraham began drawing and studying, and his childhood impressions stayed with him for the rest of his life. Later, his family moved to New York.
During his studies at Cooper Union, the Art Students League, the National Academy of Design, and the School of Architecture at Columbia University, Bogdanove created advertisements for New York magazines. He won prizes at exhibitions and painted murals for several educational institutions in New York.
Artworks by Bogdanove are preserved in museums and galleries across the United States and Europe.
Here, you can read the argumentation on why Abraham Bogdanove is also a Belarusian artist. Here, you can find a letter template to send to institutions where you have noticed incorrect labeling of his works or birthplace:
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Sofia (Sophie) Fedorovich – scenographer, artist, and one of the founders of the modern British ballet stage traditions.
Sofie Fedorovich was born in 1893 in Minsk into an intellectual Catholic family. She spent her childhood in the capital of Belarus, where she graduated from a women’s gymnasium and began studying art.
In 1922, Sofia moved to Paris, where she pursued art during the day and worked as a taxi driver at night – becoming one of the first female taxi drivers in Europe.
Sofia Fedorovich gained worldwide recognition as a stage costume designer and theater artist. She was the chief artist for the first permanent English ballet company, Ballet Club, which earned her recognition as one of the founders of the stage traditions of modern British ballet. Many of her sketches and designs are now preserved in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum in Britain.
Here, you can read the argumentation regarding her origins. Here, you can find a letter template to send to institutions where you have noticed an incorrect attribution of Sofia Fedorovich’s works:
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