Danila (Ivanovich) Vassilieff (1897-1958)

Biography

Born in Russia, 1897. Arrived in Australia - via Persia, Eastern Siberia, India, Burma and Shanghai - in 1923 after a term served in the Russian army. Accompanied by his first wife Anisia Nicoloevna, whom he met in Shanghai, Vassilieff spent two years farming before they separated, and he moved to the Northern Territory. After a restless period of travel in Paris, Brazil, the West Indies, England, Spain and Portugal, during which period he embarked on his career as an artist, Vassilieff returned to Australia in 1935. A painter and sculptor, he is best remembered for his paintings of street life in Fitzroy in the 1930s, however a considerable body of his carved sculptures have been amassed since the late 1940s. Died in 1958, aged 60.

Exhibitions

Has had over 36 solo shows and 40 group shows, in Australia and abroad, including a memorial exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art, Melbourne, in 1959 (organised by John Reed). Vassilieff has also been included in important survey shows of Australian art, and exhibited regularly with the Contemporary Art Society throughout his career.

Collections

National Gallery of Australia
Art Gallery of New South Wales
National Gallery of Victoria
Other state and regional galleries throughout Australia

Source:
St John Moore, F. Vassilieff and his Art, Oxford University Press, Melbourne, 1982